European unification within the “Europe of the Regions” is one of the principles of the Baden- Württemberg Constitution, which has always given a particular importance to crossborder cooperation, especially with French and Swiss regions. The role of the regions in Europe is not sufficiently acknowledged by the public, which is more interested in activities of the state. The future of European integration however, also depends on a construction from the bottom (regions, municipalities) up (states, EU). The words of the sociologist, Daniel Bell “the state is too small to solve the big problems and too big to solve the small ones” are still valid today. This does not mean that the states are superfluous, but internationalization leads to problems that can only be resolved through supranational cooperation. The fields of action for the states, therefore, tend to be reduced, their structures being, often, too rigid to solve the essential problems facing the citizen (education, infrastructure, culture, health etc.)
The future belongs as much to the European supranational community as to the regional and municipalunities. Reinforcingonedoesnot mean weakening the other; the best sollution would be to have a good combination of both.
Crossborder cooperation plays a key role in European integration because each experience can become a model to be followed at Europeanlevel. Common agreements and successes reinforce the regions. Regionalism leads to a greater proximity to the citizen. Regionalism and European integration form two sides of a coin and it is, therefore, crucial that crossborder cooperation be supported by the European Union.
