Martin Unfried published in the Tageszeitung Berlin
Check out ITEM-researcher Martin Unfried’s insightful column in the Tageszeitung Berlin! He challenges the typical portrayal of the EU in German media, debunking myths of bureaucracy and democratic deficits. Unfried highlights the proactive role of the European Parliament, showcasing initiatives like cross-border coordination for border commuters and environmental legislation. He also critiques the superficial EU […]
Martin Unfried featured as a guest on interview programme De Stemming of L1
ITEM researcher Martin Unfried was a guest on L1’s De Stemming interview programme on Saturday 19 May. The topic of discussion was the European Parliament elections on 6 June 2024. What is at stake for Europe? What will be the largest parties and what will be the coalition? Do parties pay attention to border regions? […]
ITEM projectpartner Coordination Point Border Obstacles Flanders-Netherlands
A milestone in the cooperation between Flanders and the Netherlands: the project ‘Coordination Point Border Obstacles Flanders-Netherlands (Schakelpunt)’ was approved by the supervisory committee 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 […]
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. ITEM’s main task is to help remove border barriers within the EU. We therefore publish a detailed annual report on what […]
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 […]
Broad Prosperity in border regions: not easy, but essential
On 27 and 28 March 2024, the ‘Limburgse tweedaagse’ (two-day event) of the National Network Broad Prosperity took place in Maastricht, organised by NEIMED, the province of Limburg and the programme coordinators of the National Network. ITEM and NEIMED jointly hosted a workshop on broad prosperity in border regions during which the importance of steering […]
Cross-border coordination points: Experts emphasize the added-value
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 […]
WinWin4WorkLife project start
WinWin4WorkLife Project Launches to Explore and Enhance 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, […]
Opinion: Border effects assessment must be improved
Opinion: Border effects assessment must be improved A new year, new tax rules. Sugar tax is driving Dutch consumers across the border, was the gist of reports in De Limburger and others in early 2024. The measure is part of the 2023 Tax Plan and was introduced on 1 January 2024. This consumption tax on […]
Recap and conclusions ITEM Annual Conference 2023
The border at the centre “With the report ‘every region counts’ and the region deals, this administration is making it clear that the Netherlands is only really thriving when it’s thriving everywhere, the border regions do have opportunities, but you have to be prepared to look beyond the borders both literally and figuratively and to […]
