The move towards a climate neutral economy and society requires policymakers and practitioners to carefully consider the core technical, social, and spatial dimensions of a just transition. This paper closely examines the processes undertaken during the development of EU Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) for the three Swedish regions of Gotland, Norrbotten, and Västra Götaland. The aim is to establish whether the content and actions outlined in the TJTPs were driven by the technical, social, or spatial dimensions of a just transition. The analysis is primarily based on a socio-economic and governance impact assessment conducted in each region as part of the TJTP formulation process. These data are also supported by observations of the TJTP development process by the article authors who were part of the team put together by DG Reform to work with the preparation of the TJTPs. The paper finds that the TJTPs development process was largely driven by technical considerations, rather than spatial and socio-economic issues. This indicates that a more open and inclusive place-based territorial approach to climate transition policy formulation and implementation is required. A balance between the technical, social, and spatial elements of a just transition is needed if policies are going to meet the requirements of local and regional citizens and provide sustainable socio-economic growth and environmental protection, without risks of delocalizing energy-intensive processes to other regions.

This article employs a multi-disciplinary planning and political science perspective to examine transboundary marine spatial planning (TMSP) in European sea basins through a collaborative governance and planning framework. The article argues that TMSP is a breeding ground for collaborative planning and governance in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Adriatic Sea Regions. Collaborative governance and planning models can be developed into an effective framework for MSP policymakers, practitioners and researchers to structure and evaluate TMSP practices. The approach can potentially contribute towards overcoming TMSP challenges and to increasing cohesion and alignment of national marine spatial plans within European sea basins.

This paper analyses challenges and enablers for integrating a transboundary land-sea interaction (LSI) perspective into marine spatial planning (MSP) practice as experienced in the Baltic Sea Region. Collaborative research results from the Pan Baltic Scope project indicate that LSI remains an amorphous concept, particularly within a transboundary MSP context. Difficulty lies in bridging planning practices across land and sea and between varying uses, administrative settings and governance functions. Addressing LSI requires capacity, time, resources, awareness, reflection, and forums for collaborative learning across sectors and governance levels.

The concept of territorial governance has been promoted by the European Commission as a central element of European Regional Policy. This article examines the key dimensions of territorial governance, arguing that it is distinct but complementary to multilevel governance as it focuses on the mobilization of regional actor groups and the integration of indigenous knowledge into policymaking processes. It further explores whether there is merit in understanding Smart Specialisation processes as a territorial governance model, using examples of the development and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies from across four Nordic regions. The article finds that Smart Specialisation can be considered a territorial governance approach because it promotes bottom-up policymaking that is driven by local knowledge. By empowering the sub-national level, a territorial governance lens may help mitigate regional disparities and bring European Union regional policymaking closer to citizens. In doing so, territorial governance can help address some of the accountability and legitimacy gaps that have caused widening discontent with the European project at regional and local levels.

The concept of active subsidiarity advocated by the European Commission has important implications for European Union (EU) regional policy. This article examines the main tenets of active subsidiarity and how they relate to competing notions of territory and key regional policymaking instruments for the 2021–27 programme period. It finds that territory matters in EU regional policy, as clearly defined nested regional boundaries provide an important framework for engaging sub-national-level actors and bringing EU policymaking closer to citizens. However, a stronger recognition of territory is required if policymakers are to effectively implement active subsidiarity and place-based territorial governance policymaking models.