Cross-border cooperation amid the Covid-19 pandemic

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) through the EGTC Platform, the European Commission’s Border Focal Point and the regional organisations Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT) and the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI) are collaborating with the aim of ensuring support to border regions amidst and beyond the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The objective of such wide network is to make the needs of border and cross-border regions visible, highlighting the negative effects of measures taken in border areas by some European countries to limit the spread of the disease. 

In a concerted effort, the network is gathering experiences of border regions throughout Europe to showcase different relevant aspects faced by local and regional authorities: the closing of many borders, imbalances due to divergent measures adopted on the two sides of the borders, non-coordinated actions in the provision of cross-border services. The platform also aims to display positive experiences where cooperation continues. The information will then be made available on the CoR’s website: the Covid-19 Platform.

With this information, regional organisations involved want to send a clear message: to limit the spread of the disease it is the time to keep people separated, but not countries. Rather, collaboration, and particularly cross-border cooperation, is essential to find effective solutions that benefit European citizens and leave no region behind.

In a second moment, the information collected will help draw conclusions to ensure that future policies safeguard cross-border cooperation and the needs of border regions – especially in times of high vulnerability. At the same time, sharing experiences among border regions will also allow for mutual learning and further capacity building between stakeholders.

Every piece of information will be very useful to help assess the situation border regions face, and for the platform to serve effectively in enhancing cross-border cooperation practices in a context of closing borders. Please do not hesitate to share your story or tell your case to AEBR’s team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Even cases happening outside the EU are also interesting for AEBR. 

More information:

Plataforma COVID19 https://cor.europa.eu/es/engage/Pages/COVID19-exchangeplatform.aspx

CoR Action Plan to help regions and cities fight the COVID-19 in the European Union https://cor.europa.eu/en/engage/Documents/CoR-Action-plan-on-Covid19_24March2020%20.pdf