Working Community of the Alpine Regions
The Working Community of the Alpine Regions (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Alpenländer - ARGE ALP) was founded on the 12th of October 1972 in Mösern on the initiative of the former Tyrolean Governor Eduard Wallnöfer. Today, ten regions in four states belong to the ARGE ALP: Tyrol, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, South Tyrol, Trentino, Lombardy, Bavaria, Grisons, St. Gallen and Ticino.
The ARGE ALP thus represents almost 26 million people living in an area of 142,366 km2. Its aim is to solve common problems and concerns of the member regions, especially in the ecological, cultural, social and economic fields, through cross-border cooperation at regional, national or European level. The Alps should be preserved as a strong and self-determined economic, living and cultural space for the population living here.
The new "secondary foreign policy" of the federal states, originally observed with suspicion by the foreign ministries, has become an instrument of regional foreign policy recognized by the states and the European institutions. While in the first years of the ARGE ALP the exchange of experience and information was in the foreground of the activities, today the ARGE ALP acts intensively as a network and lobby group for the interests of the Alpine regions at the European level.
The central institution for all questions of coordination and information is the ARGE ALP Head Office, which is located in the Office of the Tyrolean Government. The Working Communities of the Alpine Space have been granted consultative status with the Council of Europe. The representation of the European Region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino in Brussels, together with the Brussels offices of the other ARGE ALP regions, is in charge of direct contacts with the European Union. The ARGE ALP is also an observer organization in the Alpine Convention and a member of the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR).