The Phenomenon of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Iberian Peninsula: A Retrospective Look at the Luso-Spanish Euro Cities

Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) is at an all-time high. From this perspective, the need to identify decisive factors to attain territorial success in terms of a sustainable development of border areas and regions through CBC projects is vital, so that the quality of life of the resident populations can improve in turn. Contextually, the main goal of this work is to cast a retrospective look at Portuguese-Spanish Euro Cities, how they have grown and how relevant the common and sustainable development of the border regions is– in this case, the Spanish-Portuguese borderland. Thanks to the study, one can verify that Euro cities constitute a discussion tool and, in some cases, examples of success regarding the (re-)significance of borders. This study emphasizes the need to define a common project between the members of both sides of the border. The participation of the local population (citizen participation) is also regarded as a fundamental factor, among many others that must be considered in order to achieve the success of such projects. This piece of work presents a novelty for the literature in this field due to the fact that it brings to light how these second-generation CBC projects (Euro cities) have evolved and how they could be the way forward as well as the catalyst for sustainable territorial development in border regions.