Euroregion Silesia-CZ
Pekařská 4
746 01 Opava
Česká republika
Association of Euroregions of the Czech Republic
There are a total of 13 Euroregions in the border regions of the Czech Republic, 9 of which are bilateral and 4 are trilateral:
Euroregion name / Euroregion name in partner countries | Partner
countries | Web link |
NISA / Neisse, Nysa | Germany, Poland | |
LABE / Elbe | Germany | |
KRUŠNOHOŘÍ / Erzgebirge | Germany | |
EGRENSIS / Egrensis | Germany | |
ŠUMAVA / Bayerischer Wald, Mühlviertel | Germany, Austria | |
GLACENSIS / Glacensis | Poland | |
PRADĚD / Pradziad | Poland | |
SILESIA / Silesia | Poland | |
TĚŠÍNSKÉ SLEZSKO / Śląsk Cieszyński | Poland | |
BESKYDY / Beskidy, Beskydy | Poland, Slovakia | |
BÍLÉ KARPATY / Biele Karpaty | Slovakia | |
POMORAVÍ | Austria, Slovakia | |
SILVA NORTICA / Waldviertel | Austria |
Unlike euroregions, e.g. in Poland, where euroregions have been cooperating with each other for a long time within a network called "Forum of Polish Border Regions" and in 2012 they even established an association called the "Federation of Euroregions of the Republic of Poland", cooperation among Euroregions of all border regions of the Czech Republic was until recently only occasional (e.g. in the preparation of cross-border cooperation programmes for the new programming period) and intensified Euroregional cooperation took place mainly in individual border areas. Although the cooperation of the Euroregions of the Czech-Polish border is very intensive and exemplary, recently there has been a need to solve Euroregional problems and exchange experiences with euroregions of other border areas in the Czech Republic. The epresentatives of the Euroregion Nisa initiated a revival of cooperation of all Euroregions together with the idea of renewing the activities of the functioning Association of Euroregions of the Czech Republic, which since its founding has brought together only Euroregions on the Czech-German and Czech-Austrian borders and has stagnated completely in recent years.
On 28 July 2021, a Memorandum of Mutual Cooperation was inaugurated at the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec within the newly established platform of the Association of Euroregions of the Czech Republic. With this festive act, close cooperation was initiated among the signatories of the Memorandum on issues relating to current and future challenges for border regions and cross-border cooperation in all Czech border areas.
The Aim of the Association is to promote common interests within the European Union and to comment on the legislative base of cross-border cooperation at national and European level. Thanks to the new platform, Euroregions can better cooperate in the preparation of cross-border subsidy programmes for the period 2021-2027 and in the framework of these programmes in the preparation of small project funds, so that European funding is used for the real needs of these regions and their people. An equally important task for the Association is to work to reduce the administrative burden on the funds of small projects traditionally managed by Euroregions themselves, which mainly co-finance people-to-people projects.
"The first challenge before us is to learn from the last two years, when borders were abruptly closed, cross-border cooperation was very complicated due to the measures in place, and there was chaos on both sides of the border about the measures enforced. Each of the Euroregions has dealt with this as much as possible, and the European Commission's analysis makes it clear that the border areas where the Euroregions operate have dealt with the situation better than those where there is no such institution. Within the Association, we have the opportunity to prepare for similar events in the future and to create joint crisis plans. We would also like to jointly promote cross-border cooperation and its results. Borders represent scars of the past, and they are barriers that tend to grow constantly. It is up to us to show how these scars can be healed, how to overcome barriers and how to build strong ties that will prevent barriers or even barbed wire from returning to the border," said Martin Půta, President of the Nisa Euroregion, at the inauguration of the Association of Euroregions of the Czech Republic.