The undergoing discussion on the High Level Group of Experts on the future of cohesion policy post 2027 pays particular attention for cross border regions. During the 14th Debate the following poll was launched with participants voting for their favourite options.
Where do you stand? Let us know, down on the comments sections, which of the following options should be the main priorities in the post-2027 cohesion policy to better support border regions:
1) Enhancing digital connectivity in border areas
2) Boosting the green transition in cross-border territories
3) Increasing Investment in cross-border education programs
4) Strengthening cross-border healthcare cooperation
5) Expanding cross-border trade, business & labour opportunities
6) Establishing more cross-border transport connections
7) Developing sustainable cross-border governance
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Pripomienky
- Developing sustainable cross-border governance received 23% of the voting which, I would guess, demonstrates a wide participation of attendees connected from many of existing CBC European governance structures, and their knowledge on how important these governance structures are to materialize place-based CBC processes across EU CB regions …
- Establishing more cross-border transport connections received 18% of the voting which is just another demonstration of how much EU citizens understand the importance to mitigating barriers related to CB transport connections (via Interreg and other EU investment tools). I am writing a report for the European Parliament on the impacts of EU Cohesion Policy on regional accessibility with many pages on CB public transports, and it is to me clear that UE investments on CB public transports need to be substantially boosted financially speaking. As Simona stated, there are many transport and energy gaps to cover in the EU ….
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In my opinion, in the border regions instead of the sectorial approach, we need to follow the territorial one. We need to tailor the priorities to the needs and strengths of the different border regions, where we would like to enhance the cohesion of neighbouring regions. In this context, I would promote the selection of such priorities, which serve for example the implementation of integrated plans, the elimination of cross-border obstacles, and the strengthening of the daily interaction between the citizens. Besides these, all of the sectorial developments in the border regions should have a clear cross-border relevance and be implemented in an integrated way.
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As one of the results of our recent studies at ITEM (Maastricht University), the importance of sustainable cross-border governance structures must be underlined. So more priority must be given to 7. Developing sustainable cross-border governance. This could be used as the overarching mechanism to deal with the other cross-border sectoral objectives. Indeed, for example COVID-19 crisis management showed how cross-border cooperation in the field of health care can be jeopardized due to lacking governance structures (see for example this ITEM study). In 2022, ITEM together with UHasselt, RWTH Aachen and ULiege, did research to the effects of Interreg on the quality of cross-border cooperation. Again, the research showed that Interreg did only in rare cases contribute effectively to sustainable cross-border cooperation networks and governance structures. Structural cooperation networks and structures are crucial to prevent the 'stop and go' phenomenon.
On behalf of ITEM, Pim Mertens & Martin Unfried
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