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| Celebrating 10 years of expertise at ITEM: advancing cross-border cooperation |
| Dear reader,
 A decade ago, we embarked on a journey to foster collaboration and address challenges across the inner borders of the European Union. As we mark our 10-year anniversary, we reflect on our accomplishments, milestones, and impactful contributions to cross-border cooperation and assessments. Founded with a vision to foster collaboration and address challenges across internal borders of the European Union, particularly within the Benelux and Germany, ITEM has emerged as a pivotal player in promoting regional integration and cooperation across borders.
Prof. Dr. Anouk Bollen - Vandenboorn
ITEM director |
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| Cross-Border Impact Assessment 2024: Topics announced |
The topics for the Cross-Border Impact Assessment 2024 have been selected and the research phase is progressing well. The final reports will be presented at the ITEM annual conference on 22 November 2024.
This years’ topics:
- Opportunity analysis: European cross-border impact assessment and cohesion policy for border regions
- Cross-border Impact Dossier: Facilitating Cross-border Solutions - proposed EU Regulation
- Cross-border Impact Dossier: Benelux Police Treaty
- Cross-border Impact Dossier: Cannabis-Gesetz
- Cross-border Impact Dossier: The Impact of recent EU legislation in the field of EU industrial policy on border regions
- Cross-border Impact Dossier: New Netherlands-Belgium tax treaty: an ex-ante assessment
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| No mention of border regions on EU’s political agenda |
On 29 April 2024, the Next ITEM: European Elections and Border Regions event took place at EIPA Maastricht. During this event, ITEM experts Martin Unfried and Pim Mertens explained the findings of their ITEM Reflection: European Elections 2024 and Border Regions with regard to cross-border perspectives in European party manifestos. European Parliament candidates Karin Jacobs (D66), Fabiènne Hendricks (VVD), Teun Janssen (VOLT) and MEP Jeroen Lenaers (CDA) were invited to talk about the main conclusion, namely that border regions are not in the picture. The event was opened by Maastricht alderman Frans Bastiaens. Frans Bastiaens emphasized the need for strong attention for border regions, where Europe is as strong as its regions are.
The cross-border regions in Europe are at a crossroads, the future of the development of border regions in EU policy will also be central during the ITEM/HNP event on 11 September. The discussion will be continued, so save the date! |
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| Solving Cross-Border Problems with the Cross-Border Facilitation tool |
| What are the pros and cons of the amended Commission proposal (COM (2023) 790) for an EU regulation on a cross-border mechanism? ITEM organised a session about details of this initiative, now called “cross-border facilitation tool”. The event was organised in cooperation with the Representation of the German Land Nordrhein-Westfalen and took place in Brussels on 26 March 2024. |
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| Broad Prosperity in border regions is not easy, but essential |
That was the central message of the workshop provided by ITEM together with NEIMED during the two-day conference of the National Network Broad Prosperity at the Limburg provincial building.
Broad Prosperity, beyond GDP, sustainable growth, wellbeing or what name it is given on national or European level: the attention for it is increasing on both political, policy and societal level. Nevertheless, broad prosperity is actually still a blind spot in border regions. While wellbeing is not limited by borders, policies and data are.
During the workshop, Pim Mertens, scientific coordinator at ITEM, and Inge Hooijen, research manager Broad Prosperity Limburg at NEIMED, presented the findings of their ITEM Cross-Border Impact Assessment and discussed the particular challenges, opportunities and dilemmas that are present in border regions. It is ground for more common work to come in the near future.” |
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| ITEM/TEIN Annual Conference |
This 2-day conference addresses the practical challenges and prospects of future cross-border cooperation and mobility and advances debates and policy outlooks around and beyond the concept of horizontal integration. This event will be co-organised with TEIN, the European network of knowledge institutes dedicated to researching, training and counselling for better functioning cross-border regions in Europe.
Crossing the border daily is part and parcel of the life of millions of Europeans. Whether traveling for work, to study, to shop, or for leisure, inhabitants of border regions regularly go back and forth between one country and another. In our cross-border mobility we experience not only the pleasures of the EU’s freedom to travel, but in many ways also still face administrative and cooperative limits, and problematic differences in social security, taxation, health systems, diploma recognition, crime control, cross-border entrepreneurship, studying, sustainability, energy transformation etc.
Since Maastricht 1992 we have come a long way in fostering cooperation and mobility in cross-border regions, but cross-border cooperation and mobility is easier said than done. We haven’t (yet) cleared all technical, legislative, and cultural obstacles for a borderless process of European integration. How can we move forward to the next level of European integration in cross-border regions? Which innovations in cross-border governance mechanisms do we need? |
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| ITEM project partner of the Coordination Point Border Obstacles Flanders-Netherlands |
| A milestone in the cooperation between Flanders and the Netherlands: the Interreg Flanders-Netherlands on 20 March 2024. This three-year project focuses on intensifying collaboration between all levels of government and knowledge institutions in Flanders and the Netherlands in order to deal with practical border obstacles in the Flemish-Dutch border regions, to serve as a vital link, align processes and enhance connectivity across borders. We are delighted to participate in this prestigious project and to contribute our long-standing knowledge and experience in cross-border cooperation. |
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| AEBR B-solutions project |
The third compendium of b-solutions is now accessible!
With the implementation of the b-solutions initiative in 2022 and 2023, ITEM was involved in 4 cases that are compiled in this compendium. Furthermore, ITEM was involved in three so-called implementation cases and is already working on new b-solutions cases. In the compendium are, among the 41 cases of legal and administrative obstacles hindering cross-border cooperation, included:
- Continued remuneration of the sick cross-border worker
- Internships abroad cause health insurance problems
- Anti-cumulation of parental allowances in cross-border cases
- Limitations in attending a school in a neighbouring country
Finally, the conclusions and policy recommendations derived from analyzing the data are outlined. |
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| FOCI project |
On March 27th, the European Commission took a significant stride forward by unveiling a comprehensive blueprint for the European degree. This blueprint sets forth the framework and guidelines for the implementation of a European degree, marking a pivotal moment for European higher education institutions and students alike.
Over the past year, the FOCI project, a dynamic partnership between YUFE, ECIU, and EPICUR Alliances, has been diligently working to pilot and assess this groundbreaking concept. In this project Alliances YUFE, ECIU and EPICUR have partnered together with the expertise of ITEM. ITEM has co-produced the analytical report on the application of European degree label criteria.
Publications:
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Resource pooling between hospitals on both sides of the border
Launch Interreg project BRIDGE |
| With a kick-off event on 11 April, the Interreg project BRIDGE officially presented itself to the outside world. BRIDGE will explore opportunities for resource pooling between hospitals on both sides of the border and will develop a digital platform to facilitate this exchange. In this innovative way, health systems in the Netherlands and Germany can complement each other and respond to regional needs. ITEM is an associate partner in this project. |
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| Exploring and enhancing remote work impacts across Europe |
| From February 2024, the WinWin4WorkLife project has begun, aimed at understanding and addressing the impacts of remote work arrangements across Europe – including in cross-border regions. At the heart of the WinWin4WorkLife project is a mission to enrich interdisciplinary understanding of the social, economic and spatial impacts of remote work arrangements (RWA). ITEM is a partner of the consortium, which is led by LISER, and will contribute its specific knowledge regarding policy and regulation and the implications for hybrid working in border regions, and thus perpetuate work on better embedded hybrid working in cross-border regions. |
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| ITEM Briefs |
The ITEM Briefs aim to inform you about various border-related topics and developments that are current and relevant. The Briefs cover a wide range of topics and areas and are published regularly on our website. Please find below the latest issues:
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| ITEM in the media and contributions |
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Opinion article Pim Mertens Dagblad De Limburger Europe benefits from more EU
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News article Dagblad De Limburger about the ITEM Reflection on the European elections 2024: 'Maastricht researchers warn: 'Importance of border regions such as Limburg not yet realised by European politicians'. With Pim Pertens and Martin Unfried.
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On 23 April, ITEM researchers Susanne Sivonen and Pim Mertens co-organised and presented the workshop with the OECD and European Commission/DG REFORM on the cross-border labour market integration of Third-Country Nationals. The workshop took place in Copenhagen, targeted for stakeholders of the Greater Copenhagen Region. The presentation went into the three case studies of the Meuse-Rhine region, Luxembourg and Austria-Germany. See the post on LinkedIn
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On 23 April, ITEM researcher Sander Kramer contributed to the cross-border job fair in Beveren. He presented the obstacles and chances for cross-border internships between the Netherlands and Flanders.
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In the Dutch Senate questions were asked to the Dutch government referring to ITEM research. Handed in on 26 April, the questions addresses the tax situation of cross-border workers who want to work from home. In the ITEM research, an analysis was made to the different tax regimes for cross-border teleworking in Europe and the implications for a solution between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Find the questions here and the analysis here.
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Find the latest publications by the ITEM team here.
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