Regions on the fringes of long established, new or forthcoming EU Member States, in particular, are in need of transnational collaborations and development. The co-operation area of the MATRIOSCA-AAP project, the "Adria-Alpe-Pannonia" (AAP) space, comprises old and new EU Member States as well as candidate countries. It is characterised by strong regional and cultural diversity. The MATRIOSCA-AAP project concentrates on territories located at the interface of these countries and involves regions from Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia as well as the candidate country Croatia. In recent years the amount of co-operation on the project level in the AAP region has increased considerably and many new, but yet fragmented contacts have been established. The aim of the project is to promote an integrated and co-ordinated development of the AAP region by overcoming the problem of the numerous, but unorganised contacts on political, administrative and expert level. The project should also help to intensify collaboration efforts regarding development matters in the AAP co-operation area. Also other administrations of the region, like the Varazdin County (Croatia) and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Serbia) contribute to the successful project implementation Expected Results: MATRIOSCA-AAP targets an institutional setting which includes different political and administrative levels and which acknowledges present requirements and future opportunities of the region. This structure should enable stable relationships and a clear definition of the connection of the project area to the Alps-Adriatic community and the EUREGIOS. The partners involved should actively collaborate to set up a sound baseline analysis, joint strategies and a series of co-operation projects. Networks and contacts already established or outputs produced by other transnational activities will be considered for the new co-operation structure, notably the ongoing INTERREG III B/C projects in which partners from the co-operation area participate. Further main effects and results of this project will be: - Complementary advantages offered by collaboration which helps to avoid duplications and overlaps in planning and development matters for the regions involved, - Intensified collaboration between old and new EU Member States, - Improved understanding of the present situation and future trends in key areas of spatial development (e.g. functional relationships between sectors/sub-regions), - Establishment of networks at administrative and expert level in areas of key relevance for spatial development, - Compilation of a compendium of baseline data