Speakers for the 9th 'Beyond Borders: Breakfast Debate' Announced

The Border Focal Point Network is delighted to announce the speakers for the 9th edition of the ‘Beyond Borders: Breakfast Debate’ series. Border regions can offer several opportunities for SMEs thanks to the Single Market, not only for business owners but also for employees and customers. Employers gain from a larger pool of qualifications and language skills, jobseekers can find more vacancies and benefit from cross-border commuting instead of relocating, and customers get a wider offer of products and services. Taking place on 30th June, 10:00-11:10 CET, the event promises to offer a balance of business-oriented and institutional perspectives on SMEs in border regions. 

The event will begin with opening remarks from Ricardo Ferreira from DG REGIO. Ricardo Ferreira is the coordinator of the Border Focal Point Network in European Commission’s DG REGIO in the unit for Cross-Border Cooperation. 

Following Ricardo’s introduction we will hear from Karolina Krukowska, who has been working at the Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (PL-SK-UA) for the last 3 years, where her tasks mostly focus on implementing EU projects. Rzeszow Regional Development Agency is part of the consortium working on the INTER VENTURES project, one of the most promising Interreg projects focused on the promotion of the internationalisation of SMEs for more competitive regional ecosystems in EU border areas.

As part of the debate gathering all the speakers, we will hear form Feike Kuipers, who works as Policy Officer in the Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET). Since its creation in 2020, SMET has played in removing barriers introduced by some member states during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure in particular the availability of essential medical supplies and protective equipment across the Single Market. The Task Force also addressed restrictions that have challenged the functioning of the Single Market in the agri-food sector and restrictions affecting service providers. For instance, the Task Force succeeded in the removal of requirements for prior checks of professional qualifications in more than 160 professions.

Interested in joining the conversation? Register here

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