Employment – Education – Economy

High unemployment rates on one side of a border and training opportunities on the other, the lack of training programmes for specialised jobs on the one side of the border and well-defined vocational programmes on the other side: cross-border vocational education and training (VET) is an increasingly used tool to accommodate the differing needs inside the European Union in recent years. This paper present explains and analyses the diverse approaches and concepts of tailor-made as well as more standardised cross-border VET programmes in the Greater Region SaarLorLux (DE, FR, LUX, BE) and explain the different mobility types.

This training was set up in response to the complex issues that the Latin American population faced in this part of the world.  The border region, which includes 6 Mexican states and 4 American states, has specific characteristics in terms of demography and migratory dynamics. This vast territory studied has become a complex ecological, geopolitical and economic unit whose development significantly impacts the United States, Mexico and part of Latin America.

The object of the current Thematic Issue is not to focus on the individuals (the cross-border commuters) but on the organization of the cross-border labor markets. We move from a micro perspective to a macro perspective in order to underline the diversity of the cross-border labor markets (at the French borders, for example) and shed light on the many aspects that impact cross-border supply or demand. Trying to understand the whole system that goes beyond the cross-border flows, the question we address in this thematic issue is about the organization of the labor markets: is the system organized in a cross-border way? Or do the borders still prevent a genuinely integrated cross-border labor market?

This edition analyses the transformations in the cross-border labour market. It draws on a number of different studies on:

• the most sought-after skills (Pauline Bourgeon, Laetitia Hauret, David Marguerit, Ludivine Martin - LISER, Luxembourg).
• the mismatch between labour supply and demand (Pierre Gramme - ADEM, Luxembourg).
• remote working practices (Laetitia Hauret - LISER, Luxembourg) with a particular focus on the residents of Luxembourg (Hans Neumayr – STATEC, Luxembourg).
• and the limits of growth in Luxembourg (Tom Haas – STATEC, Luxembourg).

This work insist on the development of jobs where demand is outstripping supply and the growth of remote working as an emerging method of working.

The subject proposed concerns the geography of the retail sector and consumption in a specific type of area: the double border areas on either side of each of the dyads in the Three Borders Triangle (Belgium, France, Luxembourg). The article focuses on the retail chains that have become dominant in these three countries, by studying:

• firstly, the spatial development strategies pursued by the management of these groups in terms of locations in the border areas,
• secondly, the adaptations to certain national directives made by the managers of outlets situated in areas characterised by fierce competition due to the discontinuities generated by the border.

Border areas are spaces for exchanges and networking – cultural, linguistic, historical and economic. The latest research on the teaching and learning of neighbour languages in the German-French border regions of SaarLorLux and the Upper Rhine shows the important role of border regions as laboratories for European integration.  The articles in this collection address a wide range of aspects of the academic debate around cross-border issues in foreign language teaching.  It therefore contributes not only to a deeper scientific debate on this complex topic, but also provides inspiration for a greater integration of the border (area)-related educational aspects of (language) teaching on both sides of the border.

Mezzadra redraws research paths in Border Studies since the 1990s with special focus on Europe. He points to practices of border-crossing, mobility, proliferation, change and sealing of borders and reflects on concepts like differential inclusion. With reference to examples from Italy and the life-threatening struggles of migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, he points to the current politics of violence at external borders. Furthermore, he shows how the current attempts to seal (western) borders resonate with political discourses about nationalism and the spread of authoritarian neoliberalism. At the end, Mezzadra mentions the logistical turn and proposes an approach that combines logistical studies with research on globalized capitalism and critical border studies.

For a decade now, borders in Europe have been back on the political agenda. Border research has responded and is breaking new ground in thinking about and exploring borders. This book follows this development and strengthens a perspective that is interested in life realities and that focuses on the everyday cultural experience of borders. The authors reconstruct such experiences in the context of different forms of migration and mobility as well as language contact situations. In this way, they empirically identify everyday cultural usage or appropriation strategies of borders as vastly different experiences of the border. The readers of this volume will gain insights into current developments in border research and the life realities in Europe where borders are (made) relevant.