Introductory study - Europe in a changing world: opportunities and challenges

The European Union represents today a macro-regional structure with unique characteristics in the world, which has enough power to globally promote its economic interests, but encounters problems at political level regarding the capacity to exercise leadership. At EU level, cross-border cooperation was discussed only in 1980, under the European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation of Territorial Communities or Authorities, signed in Madrid on 21 May 1980 (European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation). In doing so, the Council of Europe seeks to ensure the participation of Europe's local authorities or territorial authorities in cooperating with local authorities or territorial authorities on issues such as regional, urban and rural development, environmental protection, improving infrastructure and services for citizens and helping each other. Considering that experience has shown that the co-operation of Europe's local and regional powers is such as to enable them to better fulfill their mission, that it is particularly likely to contribute to the development and development of frontier regions, which are determined to promote this cooperation as much as possible and thus contribute to the economic and social progress of border regions and to the solidarity that unites the peoples of Europe (European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation). If we talk about regionalization, cross-border cooperation, development and integration of Central and Eastern European states, we must refer to the major role that Romania plays in this context. EU Member State since 2007, our country has gone through all the stages from marginalization to membership without difficulty. Entry was the latest and most momentous stage in the country's involvement in the process of European integration