cross-border

UniGR-CBS Working Paper Vol. 17

Visuel
Working Paper Vol. 17
Abstract

In the 21st century, cooperative cross-border projects in many peripheral areas of EU member states have steadily gained in importance; but, as the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated, they can by no means be taken for granted. Borderland cooperation involves many actors, and complex as well as varied background conditions. Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (project key 01UC2104), the network project ‘Linking Borderlands: Dynamics of Cross-Border Peripheries’ undertakes a comparative analysis of two borderland regions, one in south-western, one in eastern Germany: the so-called Greater Region on the borders of Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxembourg, and the Brandenburg-Lubuskie Region straddling the German-Polish border. The Working Paper outlines the background to EU borderland cooperation and sketches some central lines of development taken by border studies, before presenting its five constituent perspectives.

Working Paper Vol. 15

Visuel
Working Paper
Abstract

The paper aims to recognize the changes in the barriers to cross-border educational projects, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focused on the European borderlands, where the level of maturity of cross-border cooperation is diverse (the Franco-German and Polish-Czech borderlands). The author utilised qualitative research methods (desk research, in-depth interview, case study). An exploratory study covered the barriers existing before the pandemic that stayed stable or have changed during the pandemic, and the new types of barriers that have appeared then. Within both borderlands, the identified barriers were similar in general; however, their intensity was varied. The key difference was the approach to these barriers within each borderland. On the Franco-German border, cross-border cooperation is more complex and deeper, and on the Polish-Czech border, it is more superficial and focused on specific issues only. These differences reveal the solutions that should be implemented to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on those projects within each borderland.

Miniature
Summary

Based on a wide-ranging survey carried out in 2010 and 2011 with a representative sample of cross-border workers in Luxembourg, the CEPS/INSTEAD has published, in conjunction with Forum EUROPA, the University of Strasbourg and the CNRS, a collection of articles devoted to the everyday lives of cross-border workers. It contains 13 sections on a range of complementary topics, which together form a synthesis of the main findings on the mobility of cross-border workers. One of the main findings of the survey is the significant increase in the use of public transport as a main means of commuting, even though car use continues to dominate. The quality of the public transport offer (journey time, services, reliability, comfort, etc.) plays a decisive role in cross-border workers' choice of transport mode, as do parking facilities at the place of work. Cross-border workers live an average of 44 km from their place of work and take 53 minutes to get to work. This distance from the place of work means that half of cross-border workers leave home before 7 am. 60% of car drivers say that they are satisfied or very satisfied with their commuting arrangements. Cross-border workers who take the train are generally more satisfied, with 74% saying they are satisfied or very satisfied. Furthermore, it is among those who take the train that fatigue makes itself felt the least compared to everyday perceptions in the different modes of transport. If 73% of cross-border households have at least two cars, generally opinions about cars are quite contrasted. But cross-border workers' mobility is not only limited to commuting for work, since one person in five crossing the border goes to Luxembourg for a non-work-related activity, mainly to eat out or to go shopping.  On average, people crossing the border spend 2 hours a day and cover 100 km for all their movements.

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