Quantification of the effects of legal and administrative border obstacles in land border regions

This study aims at quantifying the aggregate economic costs in terms of loss of GDP and employment due to legal and administrative barriers in EU land border regions. It was contracted in the framework of the preparation of Commission's Communication "Boosting Growth and Cohesion in EU Border Regions" in order to address the lack of quantitative data concerning border obstacles and their related costs. It also takes into account EU borders with Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Andorra. 

The study analyses which productive assets are vital for regional growth in Europe, and shows that, in presence of legal and administrative barriers, these assets are not fully exploited, thus causing direct and indirect losses at GDP level with repercussions on employment. The study concludes that legal and administrative barriers have a high impact on land border regions and determine an estimated GDP loss of 458 billion euros, which accounts for 3% of total Union GDP and 8.8% of total GDP produced in land border regions. This translates into a loss of employment by a little more than 6 million jobs, which means 3% of total EU employment and 8.6% of employment in land border regions. 

The study also takes into consideration that the legal and administrative barriers in land border regions do not only limit the use of internal assets, but can generate a suboptimal use of resources located in neighbouring regions.