Regionalpolitisk måluppfyllelse inom Europeiska unionen : Stärker regionalprogrammet Interreg den ekonomiska och sociala sammanhållningen och bidrar med en balanserad utveckling?

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to examine Interreg as an instrument for regional policy in the European Union. Interreg is an initiative designed to strengthen economic and social cohesion throughout the European Union by fostering balanced development through cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation. But how does it work in practise? Three main questions are asked to answer this: How well does the implementation in the programmes work? How does the programme management look and how well does it work? What degree of efficiency does Interreg show in financial and physical effectiveness? With evaluation and implementation as theories the questions are answered together with a qualitative method. The conclusions that can be drawn is that Interreg strengthen European unions economic and social cohesion in form of integration and regional development that in many ways make it easier to travel and trade over the borders. One other conclusion is that the identification between the member states grows and the borders will more and more erase. Interreg does not lead to a more balanced development in European Union because of the programmes regional structure. Some obstacles do remain and the problem with finding common structures for cooperation between states must develop for further progress