EUropean (dis)integration: implications for the Cohesion Policy

in Rauhut, Daniel; Sielker, Franziska; Humer, Alois (Eds.) EU Cohesion Policy and Spatial Governance (2021)

Our paper paves the way for discussing the significance of European disintegration for the EU cohesion policy. It relies on an interdisciplinary literature review outlining how geography and political ... [more ▼]

Our paper paves the way for discussing the significance of European disintegration for the EU cohesion policy. It relies on an interdisciplinary literature review outlining how geography and political science grasp the concepts of EUropean integration and disintegration. This review is mobilised to operationalise a reflection framework in capacity to understanding key aspects entangling (dis)integration. The reintroduction of border controls between 2015 and 2019 is one of the most concrete facets of disintegration. The analytical framework explores on an exploratory level (dis)integration tendencies emerging from border controls. This paper argues that disintegration is not simply ‘integration reverse’ and suggests dimensions for investigating it. The paper concludes by outlining a series of fundamental questions for cohesion policy. [less ▲]

Reading EUropean borderlands under the perspective of legal geography and spatial justice

in European Planning Studies (2021)

Recently, the notion of spatial justice has been discussed as a possible conceptual foundation for rethinking EU Cohesion Policy. While scholars have adopted a dual distributive and procedural ... [more ▼]

Recently, the notion of spatial justice has been discussed as a possible conceptual foundation for rethinking EU Cohesion Policy. While scholars have adopted a dual distributive and procedural understanding of spatial justice, the paper argues that, applied to cross-border areas, such a conceptualisation is challenged to explain how the border contributes to disparities. We argue that actively questioning the role of law is paramount for better examination of the dynamics within border areas. An understanding of spatial justice informed by legal geography allows examination of how law fosters and impedes movement across borders. The paper presents three recent examples where policy representatives from affected communities have fought to adapt legal provisions to cross-border spatiality. Whether such initiatives increased border communities’ capacities to shape their own development (i.e. European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) or not yet (i.e. co-development at the Lorraine-Luxembourg border; European Cross-Border Mechanism), these examples show that analysing EUropean borderlands as a spatiolegal category helps understanding of how space and law constantly struggle with one another, and how spatial justice emerges from a movement out of this conflict. The paper concludes by discussing the practical and conceptual implications of combining legal geography and spatial justice for analysing EU Borderlands. [less ▲]

Euroregion

in Wassenberg, Birte; Reitel, Bernard (Eds.) Critical Dictionary on Cross-Border Cooperation in Europe (2020)

Euroregion (also Euregio, Euroregion, Europaregion) designates a category of territorial organisations gathering subnational public authorities along adjacent national border(s). This community of ... [more ▼]

Euroregion (also Euregio, Euroregion, Europaregion) designates a category of territorial organisations gathering subnational public authorities along adjacent national border(s). This community of interest provides a platform for cross-border exchange along with dialogue and projects between local and/or regional authorities. Its geographical coverage is defined by its members, either based on the extent of cross-border, socio-economic integration or on administrative units. A Euroregion is oriented towards the interests of the cross-border community rather than the interests of each individual member. Its activities are circumscribed to the field of competencies held by its members. A Euroregion therefore does not represent a genuine administrative level. Fields of cooperation cover mostly planning, environment, transport, education, culture. [less ▲]

Territorial patterns and relations in Austria

E-print/Working paper (2020)

Travail frontalier et fermeture des frontières : l’exemple de la Grande Région SaarLorLux

E-print/Working paper (2020)

La crise sanitaire provoquée par la pandémie de COVID-19 a imposé d’importantes adaptations au marché du travail transfrontalier dans la Grande Région SaarLorLux. Les mesures prises pour éviter la ... [more ▼]

La crise sanitaire provoquée par la pandémie de COVID-19 a imposé d’importantes adaptations au marché du travail transfrontalier dans la Grande Région SaarLorLux. Les mesures prises pour éviter la propagation de la maladie imposent de limiter les déplacements au strict minimum tandis que l’efficience des services de santé publics impose la proximité. Ces mesures, qui se sont rapidement imposées aux acteurs publics, aux entreprises et aux individus, questionnent directement le fonctionnement d’un marché du travail transfrontalier structuré par la mobilité transfrontalière. Afin de maintenir tant que possible les activités économiques et de pourvoir aux besoins sanitaires, les exécutifs nationaux ont adapté les fonctions de la frontière. [less ▲]

Comment le droit européen déplace les frontières ? La proposition de règlement visant à lever les obstacles juridiques et administratifs à la coopération transfrontalière

in Annales de Géographie (2020), 733-734

To facilitate the daily management of a cross-border project, the European Commission has developed a proposal for a regulation "on the creation of a mechanism to remove legal and administrative obstacles ... [more ▼]

To facilitate the daily management of a cross-border project, the European Commission has developed a proposal for a regulation "on the creation of a mechanism to remove legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context". The latter aims to allow the use of a single law in the context of a cross-border project. This contribution uses legal geography to analyse the originality of this proposal. First, it places it in the context of European integration and the objective of territorial cohesion. Then, it suggests that the proposed ECBM Regulation represents a paradigm shift in two respects. First, it sets up an institutional lever enabling border areas to operationalise cross-border projects and build material appropriation of the cross-border area and thus acts in favour of greater spatial justice. Second, it requires national laws to extend its spatial scope (i.e. extraterritoriality). This regulation suggests than that the construction of European territoriality is achieved in border areas by increasing the porosity of the state territory. [less ▲]

La réintroduction des contrôles frontaliers dans l’Espace Schengen. Réflexions préliminaires pour un agenda de recherche

in Hamez, Grégory; Defays, Jean-Marc (Eds.) Réalités, perceptions et représentations des frontières. L’Espace transfrontalier de la Grande Région Saare-Lor-Lux, (2020)

This articles analyses the potential impact of closed borders or the re-establishing of border checks on the Greater Region - especially in Luxembourg.

Marché du travail transfrontalier Négocier avec les frontières à l’heure de la crise sanitaire COVID-19

in Mein, Georg; Pause, Johannes (Eds.) Self and Society in the Corona Crisis. Perspectives from the Humanities nad Social Sciences (2020)

The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant adjustments to the cross-border labour market in the Greater SaarLorLux cross-border area. Public authorities have taken measures ... [more ▼]

The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant adjustments to the cross-border labour market in the Greater SaarLorLux cross-border area. Public authorities have taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease that have restricted travel to the strict minimum. In contrast, the efficiency of public health services requires proximity. These measures have rapidly imposed themselves on public actors, companies and individuals. They directly question the functioning of a cross-border labour market structured by cross-border mobility. National authorities have adapted the function of the border to maintain economic activities as much as possible and to provide for meeting health needs. After recalling the characteristics of the labour market in the Greater Region, this article illustrates how the open border has been transformed into a filter to limit border crossings strictly. Then, this paper shows how by allowing commuters to conduct teleworking "until further notice", public decision-makers have derogated from bilateral tax treaties. The tax border is temporarily "moved" to the employee's home. Similarly, by allowing cross-border commuters employed in Luxembourg to access partial unemployment, Luxembourg has extended its social protection beyond its borders. This crisis, rich in lessons, shows the vulnerability of border areas in times of crisis. In exceptional circumstances, national authorities are prompt to renegotiate the functions of the border through bilateral decisions. This, however, can be to the detriment of a holistic approach reflecting the complexity of cross-border interdependence spread across four countries. At the forefront of European integration, border areas constantly challenge it and are challenged by it. [less ▲]

Agenda-setting dynamics in the post-2020 cohesion policy reform: the pathway towards the European cross-border mechanism as possible policy change

in Journal of European Integration (2019)

Cross-border areas in Europe are promoted as places of integration, whose cooperation is encouraged by the Interreg programme and the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) tool. For the ... [more ▼]

Cross-border areas in Europe are promoted as places of integration, whose cooperation is encouraged by the Interreg programme and the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) tool. For the 2021–2027 Cohesion Pack, the European Commission proposed the European Cross-Border Mechanism (ECBM), a regulation that would allow one member state to apply the law of a neighbouring member state to facilitate cross-border projects. This mechanism represents a paradigm shift, empowering border areas to manage their own integration (functional-horizontal) and institutionalise a policy pathway for resolving border-specific legal or administrative obstacles (institutional-vertical). This paper analyses the dynamics behind the ECBM proposal according to the multiple streams framework (MSF), revealing policy and politics streams’ elements to explain agenda setting in EU policy processes. Methodologically, we apply a document analysis with qualitative content and cross-case analysis elements, and a combined strategy of deductive-inductive codes. This analysis is complemented and validated by expert interviews. [less ▲]

The EPA Alzette-Belval: A National Tool to Address Spatial Disparities at the Lorraine-Luxembourg Border

Report (2019)

Since 2012, the EPA Alzette-Belval has embedded the strategy developed by public actors from all levels to trigger development and regain strategic room for manoeuvre in the context of steady growth in ... [more ▼]

Since 2012, the EPA Alzette-Belval has embedded the strategy developed by public actors from all levels to trigger development and regain strategic room for manoeuvre in the context of steady growth in Luxembourg. The 8 municipalities under scrutiny – the association of municipality “Pays Haut Val d’Alzette”, with 28,000 inhabitants – are marked by deindustrialisation and the attractiveness of Luxembourg’s economy, which overflows its national boundaries. The vast majority of the workforce is driven to Luxembourg, and pressure on public amenities is growing. The EPA is a state-led agency with the capacity to “take back” planning responsibilities from other administrative levels to plan specific areas. This instrument is unique in the French planning system as all levels remain involved in the governance structure and as the EPA brings technical expertise and financial resources to the locality. This case study scrutinises on how the EPA can represent a leverage for greater spatial justice within and beyond the locality, in the context of growing cross-border interdependencies. What does spatial justice mean in a cross-border context? How equitable can a cross-border area be? For a couple of years, a shared awareness of the locality’s needs has reached all levels of governance from the local to the national level. The dedicated instrument, the EPA, is equipped with the regulatory and financial capacity to act. It holds also legitimacy, know-how and expertise. It is well accepted by formal stakeholders in the locality and in the broader regional and cross-border context. The EPA appears as an appropriate tool to ensure development in a coordinated manner, considerate of sustainability, and limited use of agricultural land, thus avoiding urban sprawl and scattered urbanism. Yet, the EPA is challenged to find appropriates means to 1) inform the public of its activities; 2) develop a participatory approach when using the diverging opinions as a resource for implementing its projects. Its action partly overlooks current social inequalities (as they are not part of its direct objectives), while CCPHVA and the municipalities are challenged to face them (e.g. financially). In the long run, its capacity to support the development of public services for the local population in terms of development of residential economy and public infrastructure is highly dependent on 1) CCPHVA’s and the municipalities’ effective room for manoeuvre (politically, institutionally and financially); 2) the collaboration with public stakeholders in Luxembourg when it comes to cross-border public services (i.e. transport, economic attractiveness). [less ▲]