English Social Sciences International Org/Dev/Coop Union

The elites’ reasons for supporting the Union project cut across the national lines. Those who oppose integration with the West can think of the Union as a layer of protection against the West’s pressures. Those who are cautious about integration with the West can argue for the Union as a bulwark of their society, enabling them to approach the broader Euro-Atlantic integration in a more leisurely, less desperate manner. Even among those who fully wish to integrate with the West, many consider this a distant hope, if only by the West’s own choice, and feel that interdependencies justify local integration at present, and local ties and similarities give reason for a more intimate local union within the framework of looser, longer-term integration with the West.
Can't get the exact meaning of 'cut across' here.
http://www.answers.com/cut across&r=67
MTIA