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Cezar TECLEAN
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
Alexandru FOTIA
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
In this paper, we investigate the contribution of transport infrastructure, represented by highways, to territorial cohesion in the European Union. In addition to the endowment of motorways, the degree of integration into the global economy contributes significantly to increasing territorial cohesion. We used highway density and highway cross-border connection density as a proxy for motorway endowment and the KOF Globalization Index as a proxy for assessing the level of global integration. Our findings indicate that the cumulative effects of the uneven spatial distribution of highway networks and the KOF Globalization Index reflect some territorial inequalities in the European space. Territorial cohesion deficits highlight the reality of a concentric multi-speed Europe. In order to illustrate this model, we proposed a three-speed European project, designed on the basis of differentiated territorial cohesion given by the uneven endowment with highways and an uneven global integration. Therefore, the differentiated territorial cohesion is an important geopolitical stake for the new European Union that will be built by a future European treaty.

ŒCONOMICA no. 1-2/2018
Keywords: transport infrastructure, territorial cohesion, geopolitical stake, multi-speed model, concentric European Union
JEL: F15, O18, R41
Transport Infrastructures and Regional Geopolitical Stakes in the European Union