The b-solutions pilot initiative, launched in 2017, aims to address the legal and administrative obstacles hindering cross-border cooperation along the EU internal land borders. As part of this project four calls for proposals were launched between 2018 and 2021, through which a total of 90 case studies from across Europe were selected that shed light on the most recurrent cross-border obstacles at present.

Published by the European Commission’s DG REGIO and AEBR, this publication tells a selection of stories of how the lives of the people and communities in border regions are still being affected today by national borders, and what kind of obstacles they are facing in their everyday professional or private lives. Included in this publication are stories such as that of Rosa Maria from Portugal, who has witnessed the growing threat of forest fires at the border with Spain in recent years, and of Irati and François, who seemed to have to choose between their relationship and a career.