This dissertation examines the influence of two EU policies, the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) and the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), which are meant to develop cross-border transport within the EU. It shows that the two EU policies support cross-border transport at different levels. Both policies need to be more interlinked in order to complement each other more effectively. They influence the political and planning documents at the various national administrative levels and their practical implementation in a differentiated manner. The final implementation of the EU policy objectives and the cross-border transport initiatives is strongly influenced by the different initial positions in the member states.
Borders introduce a division into the world. According to the author, this definition has four consequences for a theory of the border: (1) the border is in between, (2) the border is in motion, (3) the border is a process of circulation, (4) the border is not reducible to space. Based on these four consequences he outlines a methodology, or a « critical limology » as he phrases it.
Border areas are often posited as “laboratories of European integration.” But what is the significance of the notion of the cross-border region beyond such discourses and symbols? By defining a region as a construct which is at once the construction of an identity, a territory, and an institution which is perpetuated over time, this text identifies and questions the particularities of this process within the cross-border context. The study is based on a discourse analysis, the operational use of the concepts of cross-border territoriality, and the supraregional institution. The legal framework for cooperation, provided by the EGTC (The European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation) in its role as the judicial instrument of the EU, is analyzed in detail.
Border work has an indisputable influence on the development of areas on both sides of the border. This article summarizes the impact and policy responses to the steady increase in the number of cross-border workers, with an emphasis on the Lorraine villages and cities where most of the cross-border commuters to Luxembourg live. After a presentation of the evolution of the number of cross-border workers in Lorraine, the perception of the impact of this trend on territorial development on local, inter-municipal, regional, national, and European policies is summarized. Under the title “local dynamics,” the improvement of the accessibility of the territories, the increase in housing construction, the development of services and facilities, as well as financial and tax support are discussed. It is noted that the impact varies by area and creates strong disparities. Reflections on development prospects are presented.
In the light of the Schengen Agreement border checks at the EU internal borders have largely been abolished. Thirty years after the signature of this agreement, Europe faces “refugee crisis” (EC 2016). After recent events such as the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, some countries decided to re-establish border controls. What are the impacts of the reintroduction of these border controls from a spatial perspective? To answer this question, the authors propose a synthetic literature review on conceptual tools for analyzing the reintroduction of border controls and link these with a set of empirical findings. The focus is on the Greater Region, a cross-border region where functional flows are important.
The first part (part I) is devoted to conceptual aspects of border studies. Geopolitics are elaborated in part II. In part III, border enforcement in the 21st century is studied. Part IV is dedicated to the mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion implied by border tracing. The following section (part V) is devoted to the role of borders in everyday lives. The borderless world hypothesis is questioned. The next two parts entitled Crossing Borders (VI) and Creating Neighbourhoods (VII), are dedicated to borderlands and cross-border processes. In the final part (VIII) the interactions with nature and environment at the border are treated.
The edited collection offers a practical-theoretical perspective. It is assumed that “spaces and identities emerge from social practices” (p. 9). A reconstruction of media, institutional and everyday cultural practices in border regions is carried out on the basis of various research projects. Luxembourg and the neighboring regions in Belgium, Germany and France form the empirical research context for the individual contributions. Analytically, a distinction is made between three intertwined “border practices” “(1) the establishment of borders as differentiation or self-/foreign regulation to the outside; (2) the crossing of borders as an affirmative and/or subversive act with transformation potential; and (3) the expansion of borders as an ‘in between’ of manifold relations and intersections” (p. 10).
This paper deals with the possibility of elaborating a theory of the bordering that encompasses the different types of border and boundary experience. David NEWMAN refers to his previous works, where he argued that the creation of a common vocabulary between the different disciplines interested in changing border/boundary phenomenon is necessary in order to create a common set of theoretical constructs and frameworks. After an input on borders as institutions and the bordering process, a research agenda for the study of borders is discussed.
The Nijmegen Center for Border Research (NCBR) is a research institute based at Radboud University in Nijmegen (NL). Ongoing research deals with boundaries, identities and cross-border cooperation and interaction.
