The 1990s witnessed a strong debate around the emergence of a new kind of citizenship in Europe. This article analyses the ways in which identity and citizenship are being reshaped in cross-border areas following the implementation of European Union Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) programmes, with reference to the Upper Adriatic area. First, it offers a brief theoretical background on citizenship. Second, it investigates how different cross-border grass-roots stakeholders relate to each other in the process of implementing CBC projects and how, through their interaction, construct new meanings, interests and values and revisit their identities. It concludes by arguing that the constant interaction between societal and political cross-border actors at the local elite level is leading to greater mutual understanding, long-term transnational initiatives and an increasing emphasis on shared interests and values.