ABSTRACT
During the enlargement process of recent years, 12 states have become full Members of the European Union. As Europe becomes an increasingly large territorial entity, the integration of countries with different cultural characteristics, economic potential, political orientation and so on, into a uniform market, signals new patterns of interaction taking place among different regions. At the same time, intensive trade relationships with neighbouring countries to the EU are contributing to the intensification of trade flows. Furthermore, the emergence of the information society has strengthened distant relationships and cooperation thus reinforcing the increasing mobility patterns of persons and goods. In such a context, the development of an infrastructure serving the steadily increasing patterns of interaction is of vital importance.
