The Congress,

Bearing in mind the proposal of the Chamber of Regions,

1. Having taken note of the report by Mr Coifan (Chamber of Regions) presenting the results of the 7th European Conference of Border Regions, which was held from 28 to 30 October 1999;

2. Reaffirming the fundamental importance of transfrontier co-operation for the European construction process and for establishing a climate of confidence through tolerance, mutual understanding, solidarity and good-neighbourly relations, in particular in border regions which are home to minorities;

3. Stressing the crucial role of the Congress in promoting and developing transfrontier co-operation in Europe with a view to contributing to the construction of a democratic, humane and tolerant Europe based on solidarity;

4. Recalling that transfrontier co-operation operates best of all in the day-to-day lives of citizens living on either side of individual borders, and should be established between direct neighbours;

Urges local and regional authorities

5. To recognise the importance of establishing new Euroregions in central and eastern Europe and to draw on these experiences for the development of networks and co-operation arrangements to promote good-neighbourly relations;

6. To continue setting up permanent transfrontier co-operation networks and implementing joint projects based on initiatives taken by senior officials at local and regional level;

7. To take part in efforts to promote the development of co-operation between local and regional authorities and, for instance, become partners of the Local Democracy Agencies (set up under the auspices of the CLRAE) and/or support actions by civil society aimed at promoting transfrontier co-operation in south-eastern Europe;

8. To foster and encourage, in their areas of responsibility, the teaching of the languages and cultures of neighbouring countries and regions and the implementation of cultural activities designed to bring populations on either side of individual borders closer together;

Resolves

9. To submit this resolution, together with Recommendation 85 on the same subject, to the representatives of all border regions and municipalities in Europe and the bodies representing them;

10. To encourage the establishment of closer collaboration with the European Commission in the field of transfrontier co-operation with Council of Europe member countries that are not members of the European Union, and take steps to launch joint projects such as conferences, colloquies or expert seminars aimed at co-ordinating spatial planning policies in regions on either side of and spanning borders;

11. To involve the representatives of frontier regions from South-Eastern Europe in the activities carried out by the Council of Europe and, in particular, the Congress under the Stability Pact;

12. To continue to review the situation of transfrontier co-operation in Europe regularly in the light of the implementation of Recommendation 85;

13. To ask its Bureau to devote appropriate attention in all of its activities to the issues of transfrontier co-operation, and to submit to the Congress, in due course, a report on the implementation of the recommendations arising from the 7th European Conference of Border Regions, in particular regarding the Stability Pact. In this respect, to ask its Bureau to support the colloquy on transfrontier co-operation between Bulgaria and Romania, foreseen for October 2000 in the town of Svishtov, Bulgaria.