Towards a Gender Perspective on European Union Cross-Border Cooperation: The POCTEP 2007-2013 Projects at the ACE Euroregion

We present a case-study of cross-border cooperation between Spain and Portugal from a gender perspective at the Alentejo-Centro-Extremadura Euroregion. Beginning with a literature review concerning gender and regionalism in the EU to show how gender matters on cross-border cooperation but gender analysis has not been taken in consideration (Dominguez 2008; Cairo & Lois 2011; Stoklosa & Besier 2014), we enclose a review of the Operative Programme of Cross-Border Cooperation between Spain and Portugal (POCTEP 2007-2013), which articulate resources from FEDER through INTERREG in order to incorporate the gender question. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of POCTEP verify the absence of a general framework in which women are considered a specific actors and/or the persistence of gender bias in a Euroregion with high level inequality general indicators, and a particular growing gender inequality trend (Domínguez et al., 2014). The research confirms the gender gap in European Union planning and policy agenda and presents some reflections on the women needs incorporation into environmental, employ promotion and tourism development programs in the Euroregion, as well the improvement in the participation of women organization in the euroregion multi-level governance.