Cross-border strategies have been flourishing over the last few decades in Europe, mostly in a favourable
context where European funding is available and legal instruments are well-developed. However, one may
wonder which objectives are really targeted within this very broad and imprecise notion of cross-border
strategy. The purpose of this paper is, first, to provide a theoretical framework in order to better understand
the different meanings of the notion of cross-border integration and to provide a more critical perspective on
its effects. Secondly, it analyses the policy content of the cross-border territorial strategy developed within
the Greater Region before, in the final section, pointing out the difficulties faced by policy-makers during its
elaboration. This final section is based on the insights brought both by the regional stakeholders interviewed
and by our expertise as moderators and scientific advisors within the working group in charge of the realisation
of the cross-border territorial strategy. The main finding of our analysis is that the consensus that has been
reached by all the stakeholders is the “smallest common denominator”; that is to say, the least constraining.