The Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion was published in October 2008. The Lisbon Treaty aims to raise this cohesion to the economic and social level. All the indications are that the third objective of the EU Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 will be consolidated. The present article has two aims: first, to fill the current gap in the literature regarding the third objective of the European Regional Policy, and second, to assess what Spain can expect from its consolidation. Qualitative and comparative methods are used. First we compare the various community initiatives implemented since 1990 to favour cross-border territorial cooperation, through an in-depth analysis of the Communications and Regulations that define them. We then study the changes in trends detected, and assess their impact on Spain. We conclude that the most recent changes in Community funding have been contrary to the interests of Spain's border regions.