5. ANNEX III. – Supplementary analysis to the Czech country profile
5.2 Analysis of conceptual documents on regional level
In Liberec district situated along the common border with Poland and Germany, there are couple of documents mentioning the topic of cross-border cooperation.
On the one hand, the Development programme of Liberec district 2007-2013 (Program rozvoje Libereckého kraje 2007-2013 (2007))67 highlights the significance of such cross-border activities as the improvement of transport connections in the region or between twin-cities.
The same priorities are confirmed also in the actual version of this Programme (2014-2020) . The main priorities of the programme are good relations with the neighbouring countries and cities, border crossing, cross-border bus or train connections and the existence of Neisee-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion.
On the other hand the Development strategy of Liberec district 2006-2020 (Strategie rozvoje Libereckého kraje 2006-2020 (2007))68 based on the results of an ESPON project sees Liberec as a city of regional importance together with Jelenia Góra, Görlitz and Bautzen in Saxony.
The document considers the absence of connection to the European corridors as a disadvantage of the region while the creation of the first Euroregion (the Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion) in Central and Eastern Europe as an advantage. The euroregion founded in 1991 is the good example of cooperation between Czechia, Germany and Poland.
As a result of the strategy, an expert association was created working on the territory of Liberec, Hradec Králové and Pardubice district in Czechia, Saxony in Germany and Silesia in Poland.
66 Study of the development of the Czech-Slovak borderland:
http://www.utok.cz/sites/default/files/data/USERS/u24/studie%20rozvoje%20prihranicni%20spoluprace.pdf
The Regional plan Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien (2010)69 covers two districts in Saxony (Bautzen, Görlitz) and emphasizes the importance of the Czech-Polish-German border region.
Further projects are the triangle cooperation between Bogatynia (PL), Hrádek n. N. (CZ) and Zittau (DE) and the touristic cooperation in the Krkonoše mountains or Lužické mountains.
The Strategy of Hradec Králové district 2014-2020 (Strategie rozvoje Královehradeckého kraje 2014-2020 (2013))70 does not mention cross-border cooperation, despite of that the district is located along the Czech-Polish border. The priorities of Hradec Králové district concentrate on the relationship with national and European level.
The Development programme of Pardubice district 2012-2016 (Program rozvoje Pardubického kraje 2012-2016 (2011))71 mentions the membership in the Euroregion Glacensis and the cooperation with Poland for example in the fields of transportation and tourism.
The SWOT analysis contains the Polish interest in cross-border projects (in different cultural or tourist tasks).
The development programmes of development of Olomouc district, Zlínský district, Jihomoravský district and in Slovakia of Žilinský district and Trenčianský district unfortunately do not mention borders or border regions.
In the development strategy of Moravskoslezský district 2009-2020 (Strategie rozvoje Moravskoslezského kraje na léta 2009-202072 (2008, renewed 2012)) mainly the project called European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) TRITIA is treated. The main objectives of the strategy target environment and air pollution in the area of Ostrava and Southern Poland.
The next documents are the strategy of Silesia district 2020 (Strategia Rozwoju Województwa Śląskiego „Śląskie 2020” (2010))73 and the strategy of Opole district 2020 (Strategia Rozwoju Województwa Opolskiego do r. 2020 (2012))74. The goals of the two Polish strategies are stability of inhabitants, improving of environmental conditions, development of local business, the development of the road infrastructure, primarily in the mountain/border regions. The cooperation in the framework of TRITIA is accented as well.
69 Regional plan Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien: https://www.rpv-oberlausitz-niederschlesien.de/regionalplanung/erste-gesamtforschreibung-des-regionalplans-2010.html
70 Strategy of Hradec Králové district 2014-2020 (Strategie rozvoje Královehradeckého kraje 2014-2020: http://www.kr-kralovehradecky.cz/cz/rozvoj-kraje/rozvojove-dokumenty/rozvoj-2014-2020/strategie-rozvoje-kraje-2014--2020-70319/
71 Development programme of Pardubice district 2012-2016: https://www.pardubickykraj.cz/rozvoj-kraje/37774
72 Development strategy of Moravskoslezský district 2009-2020: https://www.msk.cz/cz/rozvoj_kraje/strategie-rozvoje-moravskoslezskeho-kraje-na-leta-2009-2020-52974/
73 Strategy of Silesia district 2020: https://www.slaskie.pl/content/strategia-rozwoju-wojewodztwa-slaskiego-slaskie-2020 74 Strategy of Opole district 2020: https://docplayer.pl/6288729-Strategia-rozwoju-wojewodztwa-opolskiego-do-2020-r.html
More than 20 years of existence of the Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion provided the impulse for the creation of the following publication: The Strategy of Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion 2014-2020 (Strategie Euroregionu Neisse-Nisa-Nysa 2014-2020 (2014))75. The main priorities of the strategy are regional development and efficient cross-border cooperation. The main fields of development are economy, transportation, tourism, environment, culture, education, science and climate. In the document the strengths of the region are accented, exceptionally.
The development strategy of Polish-Czech cooperation in the Praděd/Pradziad Euroregion for the period 2014-2020 (Strategie rozvoje polsko-české spolupráce v Euroregionu Praděd/Pradziad na léta 2014-2020 (2013))76 has the ambitions of improving and developing cross-border cooperation which has a long tradition and already helped realize many small mutual projects.
The Bílé/Biele Karpaty Euroregion (CZ/SK) prepared the Strategy of the cooperation of Hornolidečský region and Púchovská dolina 2014-202077. The document covers two typically rural micro-regions with 22 municipalities including around 20 000 inhabitants.
The topic of cross-border cooperation is mentioned in the document in terms of the evaluation of transport connections, environmental issues and border crossings. Besides, the strategy contains a guide how to manage and present cross-border activities and which topics should be emphasized and developed. The Euroregion is introduced as a key participant for the sake of future development.
The last example is the document titled European City Náchod-Kudowa Zdroj (Evropské město Náchod – Kudowa-Zdroj / Miasto Europejskie Kudowa-Zdroj – Náchod (2014)78, which represents the local/regional level. In the Central European region this approach is very specific because these cities are not connected but they are situated around 10 km from each other. In the history Czechs, Germans and Poles lived in this area and the region was permeable.
Nowadays, language is one of the biggest obstacles of cooperation. Another barrier is the small number of border crossings and the absence of motorway connection. Despite of the existing cross-border railway, there is no cross-border train connection and the tourists use their own car or the existing bus line.
75 Strategy of Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion 2014-2020: http://www.euroregion-nisa.cz/index.php?D=248 76 Development strategy of Polish-Czech cooperation in the Praděd/Pradziad Euroregion for the period 2014-2020:
http://www.europraded.cz/docs/cinnost/Strategie_2014_2020.pdf
The most important factors of the SWOT analysis included in the study are the followings.
S
Good experience with cooperation
W
Absence of legal information e.g. for economy and business
O
Creation of the Nové Sudety (Novum) EGTC
T
Decision making is time consuming at regional and national level mainly in the field
of international transport connections.