Border regions are at the heart of EU. Being territories where crossing the border is part of daily routine, these regions become laboratories of European integration.
Following its Communication on boosting border regions published in 2017, the European Commission has just adopted a new report “EU border regions: Living labs of European integration”.
This report shows the need, and the potential, of taking action towards solutions that look at the whole of a cross-border region as one, instead of two separate parts. It focus on four broad clusters of cooperation:
i: Resilience through deeper institutional cooperation
ii: More and better cross-border public services
iii. Vibrant cross-border labour market
iv. Border regions for the European Green Deal
Beyond the report, the session shows how different institutions are addressing the need to act to exploit the potential of border regions, with coherent actions and policy.
The Association of European Border Regions brings testimonies of how the b-solutions initiative is paving the way for effective provision of cross-border public services.