After introducing the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region macro-regions have gained the international attention. At first sight, this Strategy seemed to draw inspiration from other types of the EU policies. Although, the closer look suggests that the Strategy and the macro-regional concept as such have some unique features.
The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to the current debate on the European integration by identifying the aim of the new EU’s Strategies for the macro-regions. In order to do that, the author focused on both, theoretical and practical sides of emerged EU’s Strategies for the Baltic Sea Region and for the Danube Region. The author have argued that the creation of the strategies represents the new way of working in terms of the European cooperation.
Both, qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this thesis. Dividing the thesis into the theoretical consideration and the practical analysis have allowed to present the whole spectrum of the macro-regional strategies, to understand why they have appeared and to define what role they are playing in the EU.
Essential for this case study was to investigate why the macro-regional strategies have been created within the EU structure. In this specific case, the author has utilized the combination of the neo-functionalism and the federalist theory. This theoretical framework has placed macro-regions beyond the states and within the EU environment. Moreover, the thesis has also indicated that the primary motivation for this specific form of cooperation is strictly functional. In the matter of governing the EU’s strategies, the author has applied the Multi-level Governance approach. In consequence, from the analytical part the author has learned that the Multi-level Governance approach is reflected with the practical coordination of the macro-regional strategies.
In the next part of the thesis, the author has analyzed in details the EU’s Strategies for the Baltic Sea Region and for the Danube Region. The analysis was preceded with a short introduction of the Lisbon Treaty, which amendments have a great influence on the EU Regional Policy and on the macro-regions. Results of this analysis were presented in the form of the SWOT analysis. They revealed the strong and weak points of these strategies in the internal and external surroundings. The both cases were perceived as an innovative concepts of the EU macro-regional cooperation and the tool to improve the territorial cohesion among regions. Furthermore, the author has indicated that they were also created to boost the general development within and outside the EU borders.
In the final part, the thesis pointed out the success of the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and for Danube Region by showing rising interests in creating another EU’s macro-regional strategies.