Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion

TyrolSouth TyrolTrentino Euroregion
Location of Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (dark green) in Central Europe
Location of Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (dark green) in Central Europe
Type Euroregion
Membership
Establishment 1996
Area
   Total 26,254 km2
10,137 sq mi
Population
   2011 estimate 1,755,186

The TyrolSouth TyrolTrentino Euroregion (German: Europaregion Tirol-Südtirol-Trentino; Italian: Euregio Tirolo-Alto Adige-Trentino) is a Euroregion formed by three different regional authorities in Austria and Italy: the Austrian state of Tyrol (i.e. North and East Tyrol) and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino.

Overview

The boundaries of the association correspond to the former Princely County of Tyrol, a crown land of the Habsburg Monarchy (including the former Prince-bishoprics of Trent and Brixen) which for centuries shaped life in the Alpine region.[1] Divided after World War I, the region retained much of its cultural integrity by its traditionally strong attachment to the land and a profound desire for self-government on both sides of the border. The long-standing cultural, social and economic ties, as much as the recognition of convergent interests based on its traditional role as transit country and its largely identical environmental conditions in the Eastern Alps, led to the creation of the Euroregion by the three provinces in 1998.

Linguistically, the population in Austrian Tyrol is German-speaking, while the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the Trentino is Italian-speaking. In South Tyrol, approximately two-thirds speak German as mother tongue and one-quarter speak Italian.[2] Overall, 62% of the Euroregion are German speakers and 37% Italian speakers. About 1% of the total population of the Euroregion speak Ladin as mother tongue, this group being mainly indigenous to South Tyrol, but also to the Trentino and Belluno.

Member regions

Detailed map of the Euroregion, formed by the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino

The Euroregion in numbers as of 31 December 2006:[3]

Region Surface in km² Population (31.12.2011) Population density per km²
Tyrol 12,648 710,042 56.1
South Tyrol 7,400 511,750 69.2
Trentino 6,207 533,394 85.9
Overall 26,255 1,755,186 66.8

Co-operation

Cross-border cooperation between the three neighbours covers today many fields, including tourism, traffic, infrastructure, social services and environmental issues in the sensitive central Alps area. In 2001, the joint Alpendeklaration (Alpine declaration), a charter for sustainable development, called for a reconciliation of economic pressures with the wish of the local population to preserve its living environment. A common liaison office was set up in Brussels to foster relations with the EU.

Following a historic meeting between the parliaments of Austrian Tyrol and South Tyrol in 1971, the first in fifty-seven years, the joint meetings were extended twenty years later to include the Trentino. In the 1990s the Austrian federal-state of Vorarlberg, which enjoyed close relations with the region in the past, was granted observer status in the Three Provinces' Parliament (Dreier Landtag). Meetings of the assembly were held at various places of historical importance, such as Innsbruck and the former capital of Tyrol, Merano.

See also

References

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