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. Excluded from the association due to a change of the province by the fascists, are Cortina, Livinallongo, Colle Santa Lucia, Pedemonte, Valvestino and Magasa, but they have voted in 2007/2008 to revert to the provinces of South Tyrol/Trentino, which has not yet been approved by the Italian legislature in Rome.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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 their mother tongue and one-quarter speak Italian.[1] 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.
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:[2]
Region
Surface in km²
Population (31.12.2011)
Population density per km2
Tyrol
12,648
1,710,042
56.1
South Tyrol
07,400
1,511,750
69.2
Trentino
06,207
1,533,394
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.
Welcome sign
Following a historic meeting between the parliaments of Austrian Tyrol and South Tyrol in 1971, the first in 57 years, the joint meetings were extended 20 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.
