ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the post-1989 administrative reality and on the institution-building attempts that were made in the SEE states under the challenging conditions of post-communist transformations and in anticipation of eventual European Union (EU) membership. It seeks to establish which are the institutional factors that reduce the chances of successful cross-border and trans-national cooperation initiatives that limit the potential for spatial integration in SEE. The principle of trans-frontier cooperation in Europe goes back to the 1950s and, ever since that date, it has played an important role in the process of European integration. The development of trans-frontier cooperation practices has no doubt been favoured by the active role played by the European institutions; the Council of Europe has shown an interest in 1960. The chapter records the borders of the region were being re-drawn, a further indication of both the cooperation difficulties and the urgent necessity to achieve further integration in this rich multi-cultural mosaic.
