The Committee of Regions (CoR) has drafted and adopted on 20 November a set of recommendations pertinent to the facilitation of cross-border emergency services. The Draft Opinion ‘Solving obstacles to the cooperation of emergency services in the EU’s border regions’, identifies several categories of obstacles hampering efficient cross-border emergency responses. These obstacles include:

• Legal and administrative obstacles, such as lack of legal grounds and authorisation of emergency services to operate on the other side of the border, and differences in working methods, rescue protocols and distinguishing signs of emergency vehicles between neighbouring Member States.
• Financial obstacles, such as who finances the response operation and covers the costs incurred, and lack of payment and insurance mechanisms for treatment of patients between Member states.
• Technical obstacles, such an incompatibility of digital maps used by rescue teams not covering neighbouring Member States, and differing technical standards.
• Language obstacles, hampering communication between dispatch centres, rescue teams, patients and hospitals.
• Mental and cultural obstacles, such as lack of trust, prejudices and misconceptions which are essential preconditions for cooperation.

The opinion identifies ways in which national and regional governments can use EU funding programmes, regulatory frameworks, and dedicated cross-border mechanisms to enhance cross-border cooperation, regional integration, and resilience. It particularly notes that an increasingly popular legal mechanism intended to ease cooperation between border regions – European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs) – has proved "very effective", including during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted that such problems remain in many areas despite the decades of growing cross-border cooperation at regional or national level.

You can find more about the Draft Opinion of the CoR here.

Check out our Beyond Borders: Breakfast Debate on “Facilitating Access to Healthcare in Cross-Border Regions”!