Euroregion as an Entity Stimulating the Sustainable Development of the Cross-Border Market for Cultural Services in a City Divided by a Border

Abstract

This article discusses the issue of the sustainable development of the Polish-Czech cross-border market for cultural services in a city divided by an international border. The article uses the example of Cieszyn and Český Těšín, a city divided following the decision of the Council of Ambassadors in 1920. The research carried out so far indicates the main constraints in the harmonious functioning of the cross-border market for cultural services in this city, such as: The different cultural policies implemented on both sides of the city, the language barriers, as well as some legal and administrative differences. Therefore, the authors undertook research aimed at recognising the role of Euroregional structures in stimulating the sustainable development of this region. On the basis of an analysis of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion’s documentation, and the results of qualitative and quantitative research, this article describes the role of the Euroregion in building a cross-border market for cultural services. The presented results shows that the level of familiarity with cultural events organised in Cieszyn and Český Těšín within the framework of Interreg cross-border projects, is much higher than the familiarity with cultural events that are organised without financial support received through the Euroregion. Recommendations were also prepared that could constitute the principles of a common cultural policy, not only for Cieszyn and Český Těšín, but also for other European cities in the Schengen Area, which, like Cieszyn and Český Těšín, have been divided by an international border.

Polarization of Living Standards among Administrative Units Engaged in Cross-Border Cooperation—The Example of Polish Municipalities of Euroregion Baltic

“…The results also corroborated the assumption regarding endogenous potential, which is the cornerstone of social and economic development [97] (pp. [25][26][27][28][29][30]. Rural municipalities, with limited demographic, social and economic potential, ranked last in all cases, which further speaks to a fixed ranking hierarchy (Figures 5 and 6).…”

“…The literature on the subject includes a wide variety of publications dealing with regional development and cross-border cooperation in Euroregions [1,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32], acknowledging its importance while also delineating the benefits and limitations of this form of international cooperation.…”

“…From polish perspective, with hopes and expectations, it was well-described by Malendowski [23,24] and Palmowski [25], especially before polish accession to the EU. In subsequent years variety of topic were taking into account, including, among others, cultural potential [26,27], goodgovernance [28,29], and socio-economic potential of Euroregions [30]. Lately, discussion about the usefulness and activity has occurred [31,32].…”

“…There is no single accepted definition of the term, which is why researchers contend that interchangeable use of different designations (level of living, standard of living) is justified [39] (pp. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. However, it is held that the level of living should be expressed using comparable, objective metrics.…”

The divided town of Český Těšín/Cieszyn as the most integrated part of the Czech-Polish borderland: A life in the cross-border educational togetherness or side by side?

“…Těšín/Cieszyn Silesia, with its Polish minority living on the Czech side, is, according to many scholars, the most integrated part of the borderland with a high volume of multiple crossborder flows (Pászto et al, 2019;Opioła & Böhm, 2022), where the CBC contributed to the mutual post-conflict reconciliation (Böhm, 2023). Wróblewski and Kasperek (2019) analysed crossborder cultural cooperation, and also observed its highest intensity in Těšín/Cieszyn Silesia.…”