EN
Poland is active in transborder co-operation programmes with all its neighbours, i.e. Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belorus, Lithuania and the District of Kaliningrad which is part of the Russian Federation. The areas of co-operation are expanding but the pace of development in the different transborder areas is not uniform. A number of limitations and slow-downs are observed. The article attempts to compare the level of transborder co-operation in Poland with that of Western European countries. The six-point ranking system applied by Ch. Ricq has been employed in the evaluation and the following levels have been identified: no relations at all, exchange of information, consultations, co-operation in selected areas, harmonisation and integration. The Polish case may be categorised as being level II, or exchange of information and level III, or consultation. Type IV cases (true co-operation) are sporadic. The comparison with western democracies is hampered by the fact that the level of co-operation varies appreciably with the level of government in any given country. Regional and local co-operation in is the focus of attention in the countries of Western Europe, whereas transborder co-operation is primarily exercised by the central government, which is especially true of the north-eastern region. The level of regulatory independence of regional governments in the former Soviet Union nations is low. Unlike in the east, the co-operation along Polands southern borders between communities and local governments is often stronger than that of central administrations.