ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an analysis of one important field of regional policy-making in Europe - cross-border cooperation. It looks at the experience of cross-border co-operation at Germany's eastern border it counters some of the pessimistic conclusions about the potential of multi-level governance drawn by some writers. The chapter argues that aspects of inter-regional and cross-border co-operation are one of the most significant examples of multi-level governance in Europe. It focuses on external cross-border co-operation between three Lander at Germany's eastern border (Mecklenburg West Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony) and regional and local authorities in Poland and the Czech Republic. The involvement of sub-national and non-state actors in Interreg is perhaps the most significant example of multi-level governance in the implementation of European policy. As to the implementation of European regional policy in Germany - in particular with regard to the principle of 'partnership' - the institutional response of the German political-administrative system has been rather mixed.
