The 20th edition of the Beyond Borders: Breakfast Debates, organised by the Border Focal Point Network, was successfully held on the morning of October 24th, 2024. The debate focused on a pressing topic of critical importance and impact on the environment and society in general: Cross-Border Water Supply Networks.

Our esteemed host, Lord Andrew Lansley, moderated the discussion, welcoming the four panellists who are experts in cross-border water management and represent the European Commission, international organisations, municipal authorities and cross-border cooperation projects in the field of water management. Beniamino Brunati, representing DG REGIO, set the scene for effective cross-border cooperation in management of water resources across the EU, in view of physical events such as droughts and floods related to climate change and for securing access to clean water. He discussed DG REGIO efforts to support water management-related actions, including planned investments, through Interreg projects and the Cohesion Fund, and institutional cooperation beyond funding through the Border Focal Point Network.

Mr. Martin Engelhard, Elected Alderman of the Municipality of Bad Bergzabern, Germany, and representative of the PAWENA Project, presented the situation in the cross-border region between Germany and France, which was characterised by water supply scarcity (especially in the summer) and was hampered by accidents damaging the water supply infrastructure. He further highlighted that cross-border cooperation through the PAWENA project led to securing water supply for the local populations throughout the year as well as improving water quality.

Next panellist was Ms. Hélène Masliah-Glikarov, Technical Expert for Public Participation and Communication with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). At the outset, she presented the extent of coverage of the ICPDR and highlighted the Danube River Protection Convention as the legal basis for the ICPDR setup. She mentioned the communication and awareness-raising activities of the ICPDR towards stakeholders and the public, focusing on three pillars of activity (cleaner waters, a healthier ecosystem, a safer Danube) and stressed the importance of a cooperative basin-wide approach as the only approach to properly manage water resources, and of a bottom-up approach for the involvement of water management experts in informing the ICPDR’s decision-making. Cooperation benefits in the Danube Basin area include economic growth, increased well-being, enhanced environmental sustainability, and increased political stability.

Finally, it was Mr. Gintaras Skamaročius, Independent Expert, who presented the B-Solutions case on cross-border cooperation between Poland and Lithuania for the development of a transborder water supply network. The study conducted by Mr Skamaročius on how and under what conditions it is possible to build such network between these two states suggested that the main barrier lay in the lack of coordination between the two countries. The solution proposed that can contribute to the lifting of this barrier is the signature of bilateral agreements between the border municipalities in which they are directly involved as the agents competent for the development and management of water infrastructures in both countries.

An intervention was made Mr. Raffaele Viaggi, Policy Officer, Cross-border studies and European projects with the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT), who presented the ongoing Resilient Borders Call for Proposals for financing pilot actions for the preparation of joint cross-border crisis management plans or joint cross-border spatial planning measures, in order for cross-border territories to respond in a coordinated manner to crises such as Covid-19 and physical events such as floods and forest fires. The call for proposals is launched in the context of the project ‘Resilient Borders – Cross-Border Spatial Planning and Crisis Management Pilot Actions’ with the aim of developing resilient border regions.

The two poll questions that were featured on the debate were:

1. What is the most significant benefit of effective cross-border water supply management?

2. What is the most effective approach to improving cross-border water supply governance?

Watch the replay here!

Download all the presentations below!