欧盟跨界区域发展的历程、制度特征与启示

Governing cross-border regions:History,characteristics,and implications from the European Union

在全球化与区域一体化的发展趋势下,跨界区域不断涌现,形成以合作互利为制度基础的区域治理新主体。作为全球发展最早、规模最大、行政边界层次最为丰富也是最具代表性的跨界区域之一,欧盟跨界区域为世界各地的跨界发展与治理提供了经验范本。本文在概述欧盟跨界区域研究背景的基础上,详细分析了其发展历程,指出欧盟的跨界区域发展与欧洲一体化的宏观趋势紧密相关,主要可以划分为四个阶段:空间导向的跨界发展萌芽期、法律导向的跨界发展成长期、经济导向的跨界发展拓展期以及制度导向的跨界发展深化期。在此基础上,本文分析了欧盟跨界可持续发展的制度特征,重点关注了其多层次的治理结构与稳定保障政策的形成过程与实施路径。以此为借鉴,结合笔者对长三角区域一体化的观察,本文对长三角区域跨界协同发展的政策实践进行了反思并提出了相应的建议,包括推动项目化的资金支持和运营制度的建立;丰富治理尺度,强化跨界组织和基层政府的治理参与;以及推动临界地区的合作发展。通过欧盟经验与长三角区域一体化实际行动的具体结合,笔者希望对长三角跨界区域发展提供理论与实践指导,以此对我国跨界区域发展的支持机制、治理逻辑及空间落点的制度化提升有所启发。

The recent development of globalization and regionalization has witnessed the emergence of a new form of regional governance-cross-border cooperation.The European Union hosts some of the most representative cross-border regions and provides good examples of cross-border region-building.In this paper,we review the institutionalization process of cross-border cooperation in the EU(formerly European Community),focusing on how multilevel governance was structured and how relevant policy packages were formulated and played out on the ground.Based on key actors involved in and main characteristics of cross-border institutionalization,we divide the process of cross-border cooperation into four phases:initiation(characterized by cross-border spatial planning),growth(characterized by cross-border legal frameworks),expansion(characterized by INTERREG initiatives)and deepened cooperation(characterized by the EU Cohesion Policy and multilevel governance).Spatial,legal,and economic issues were the priorities of different phases,leaving national sovereignty as the main hurdle for further institutional integration.Drawing on the lessons from the EU and the observations in the Yangtze River Delta,we made several suggestions on how the Yangtze River Delta would build its own cross-boundary regions.Although regions in the Yangtze River Delta are not separated by hard borders and are thus free from most political issues faced by EU cross-border regions,they encountered many spatial,economic,and institutional issues in regional development that are similar to EU cross-border regions.We,therefore,suggest a couple of aspects that they can learn from the EU cross-border development,including the establishment of project-based cooperation platforms supported by stable funding,the inclusion of multiple stakeholders in multilevel governance,particularly grassroots governments and cross-boundary organizations,and the promotion of cooperation between adjacent regions.We hope these suggestions would further contribute to the development of regional cooperation in China,which may extend from cross-boundary cooperation between neighbors to multifaceted cooperation and multilevel governance.