Cross‐Border Horizontal Europeanization From a Municipal Perspective: The Example of the German‐French‐Luxembourg Border Region Saarlorlux

Abstract

Border regions located on the periphery of nation states stand to benefit in many ways from the process of European integration; at the same time, however, they highlight and even magnify the persistent obstacles that hinder and retard cross-border cooperation. In the course of Europeanization debates, the subnational level has been seen as closer to citizens than abstract Brussels, but it finds itself in a sandwich position in the interplay between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’. This article addresses this ambivalence and explores perspectives for cross-border horizontal Europeanization with a focus on the local level, which has not yet received sufficient attention. Against the background of the debate on horizontal Europeanization—closely linked to border studies—, the SaarLorLux (i.e. German-French-Luxembourg) border region is used here as a case study. On the basis of quantitative and qualitative surveys at the local level, it becomes clear that municipal decision-makers do indeed see the cross-border region as a laboratory of European integration. However, they demand more room of their own for manoeuvre to deepen cooperation. Even if municipalities in the border region are more positive about the future than those further away from the border, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed if they are to make a more successful contribution to Europeanization.