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COVID- 19 IS CHANGING OUR LIVES: HOW IS IT IMPACTING CROSS-BORDER REGIONS?

  • Angela PINTO profile
    Angela PINTO
    25 March 2020 - updated 1 year ago
  • 8 comments
    Total votes: 7

A quick glance at the worldwide effects of COVID – 19 is enough to notice that the most recent pandemic has changed many aspects of people’s lives. Dare to say, this pandemic has a lot of other negative effects in many areas. But how exactly is it impacting cross-border regions, and the life of your project? Have commuters been affected differently since the outbreak of the most recent pandemic?

Given the effects of the current situation, the Border Focal Point team would like to encourage all stakeholders to share their cross-border experiences, negative or positive, linked to the covid-19 crisis on this platform.

Feel free to share with us relevant information or thoughts such as a very extraordinary situation for cross-border activity. Are there unexpected outcomes impacting cross-border commuters differently than those who do not cross a border? Are there specific cases of cross-border cooperation, namely in healthcare, appearing as a reaction? We would be glad to hear also positive stories. Do not hesitate to post the story from your border, maybe accompanied with a picture.

 

To post, enter in the thematic group most relevant for the case (eg. health, employment, …), and click on “create a news item”. You should be logged in to post

Tags: 
#borders#crossbordercooperation#covid19

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Maria Hegner's picture
Maria Hegner,
14/05/2020 12:01

Situated in the highly symbolic Schengen region, the University of the Greater Region (UniGR) and its Center for Border Studies (UniGR-CBS) are perceiving the re-closure of borders with a certain concern.

As a reaction, the researchers of the UniGR-CBS created two new rubrics on the website of the UniGR-Center for Border Studies: the exchange platform “BorderObs” and the online gallery “Borders COVID-19”.

Exchange platform “BorderObs”

The UniGR-CBS investigates different types of borders and their implications at the social and territorial level. In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, borders have very quickly gained in relevance due to the actions related to the territorial dimension taken by decision-makers or via new demarcations in social cohabitation. Therefore, the UniGR-CBS has established the public exchange platform BorderObs for border researchers from the Greater Region and beyond. There, short articles are published dealing with borders and social demarcations in border regions in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online gallery “Borders COVID-19”

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a sudden change in the way people live together in border regions and beyond. Protective measures have been taken that nobody could have imagined until a few weeks ago. These include the closure of many of the EU's internal borders and limited cross-border mobility. The border closures are directly noticeable in the everyday life of border region residents. This is why citizen protests are already forming or mayors of border communities are campaigning for the re-opening of borders. The closed EU internal borders, hardly imaginable for many people, especially for the younger generations, have caused the UniGR-CBS to document the current and temporary situation. Therefore, the UniGR-CBS has set up a public online gallery in which photos of the closed internal borders are collected. The submission of photos by citizens from different border regions confirms that the currently restricted freedom of movement of persons is a new and painful experience for the inhabitants of border regions in Europe.


Further information on the UniGR-Center for Border Studies:

Web: http://cbs.uni-gr.eu

Twitter: https://twitter.com/unigr_cbs

Total votes: 0
Vineta Snore's picture
Vineta Snore,
03/04/2020 10:40

Latvia-Estonia cross border work and Valga-Valka Centre project

From the 20th of March, it is allowed for both Estonian and Latvian residents to work in the other country regardless of the municipality of residence. Cross-border work is permitted only for people without any symptoms of the disease. This solution allows continuing construction works on the Estonia-Latvia border in the twin town Valga-Valka area, which began in March. One joint center for both towns is under reconstruction within the Interreg Estonia-Latvia programme's funded project "Valga-Valka Centre" with a total budget of 5.3 million euros, where ERDF contributes with ca 3 million euros. There are 2 on-line cameras set up, where everybody can follow the progress of works in real-time on both sides of the border. The actual border is the tiny river that can be well-seen in one of the cameras. Both cameras can be accessed here - https://visitvalgavalka.com/

We are posting frequently on Facebook - Estonia-Latvia programme. There are links to photos from the regional portal Ziemellatvija. They have taken photos when the construction works began. 

We are in close communication with the lead partner and together follow the developments at the site.

With kind regards, 
Vineta 
 
 

Total votes: 0
Leyre Azcona's picture
Leyre Azcona,
27/03/2020 12:38

Great initiative!  At the Euroregion Nouvelle-Aquitaine Euskadi Navarra we are providing up-to-date information for cross-borders workers. We publish all the relevant information in our website devoted to cross-border workers: empleo-info.eu (https://www.empleo-info.eu/actualites/covid-19/),  and in our main website www.euroregion-naen.eu, where we are also providing more generic information about the effects of COVID-19 in our border (e.g. transport).

Our cross-border meta-clusters are working closely to provide solutions and innovative ideas – especially the INNOVMEDICA Alliance.

Due to this new situation, we have also decided to postpone our call for projects “Euroregional citizenship: culture, youth and sport”, whose launch was initially scheduled for the end of March 2020.

Total votes: 1
Sander Kramer's picture
Sander Kramer,
26/03/2020 22:36

Bright idea! At out research institute ITEM (Maastricht University) we will adress the cross-border consequences surrounding the Corona crisis in our annual cross-border impact assessment.

For further information, please visit https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/item-cross-border-impact-assessment-2020-corona-mainly-controls-cross-border-situation?view=overlay 

Kind regards,

Sander Kramer

Total votes: 2
Frédéric Siebenhaar's picture
Frédéric Siebenhaar,
26/03/2020 14:59

Excellent idea. At the EGTC Eurodistrict PAMINA, we follow cross-border developments on a daily basis and inform our members and their crisis management teams. To this end, we regularly prepare an information letter. Our information and counselling service (INFOBEST PAMINA) advises cross-border commuters on current issues and, together with the INFOBEST network, has set up an FAQ section on its website. Communication with INTERREG lead partners and the INTERREG authority is also important at those times.

Our members have, independently and with our support, launched various aid campaigns in the medical field, e.g. patients from France are treated in Germany, and respiratory masks have also been sent. In this context, the established networks in the Upper Rhine region have also proved to be of great help.

Total votes: 4
Terry MARTIN's picture
Terry MARTIN,
26/03/2020 11:30

Can closing your borders to prevent COVID-19 transmission be regarded as an act of cross-border solidarity?

Total votes: 0
Nathalie VERSCHELDE's picture
Nathalie VERSCHELDE,
27/03/2020 09:33

Hi Terry

Good to read your comment...  It certainly gives me an opportunity to bounce back with the following reflections.  "Keeping your distance" and "staying home" are acts of solidarity from all of us to all of us.... that is what is going to keep the virus at bay, not administrative boundaries or national borders.  We ALL have to reduce direct interaction with others, whether we live in border regions or not.  At the same time, we also have to find safe ways to keep critical services going - especially in the health sector.  Frontline workers need to be able to continue providing the care they normally do, food producers need to be able to continue to supply food...  and in some border regions, that means crossing the border to go to work.  So let's make sure pragmatism prevails.  

Total votes: 4
Marta CABANAS's picture
Marta CABANAS,
26/03/2020 11:14

 From Eixo Atlantico we strongly support this inititative. It is an chance to valorizate border as a factor of opportunity.

In fact, we have been developing a similar initiative for 15 days. You can read in the "Opinion" section at our website (www.eixoatlantico.com) several articles from wellknown people in the Euro-region Galicia-Norte about the crisis and its impact on the cross-border territory.

All these articles are of course public and they can be consulted and used, as lon as it is mentioned that it is an article (or part of) writter for the Opinion section of the website www.eixoatlantico.com

 

Total votes: 3