ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the Europeanization process within the backdrop of the German-Polish borderland. It discusses the legal, financial, and ideological instruments of the European Union (EU) are important catalysts for the transformation and integration of border regions. The enlargement of the EU to the east brought about a slew of new studies on the Europeanization of Central-East European countries and demonstrated the strong pressure placed on adaptation, reinforced in part by EU conditionality. An important step towards the Europeanization was the introduction of territorial and administrative reform in Poland. The regionalization process was a reaction to direct and indirect pressure by Europe to decentralize its government. However, a European society, in the sense of integrated cross-border interactions and communication driven by bottom-up networking, does not yet exist. In order to strengthen local capacity for self-organization, additional 'steering capacities' must be introduced by building civil society organizations that enjoy legitimacy among local population due in part to share interest.
