The topics for ITEM’s 2023 annual Cross-Border Impact Assessment have been selected and the research phase is progressing well. The final reports will be presented at the ITEM annual conference on 17 November 2023.
ITEM’s main task is to help remove border barriers within the EU. We therefore publish a detailed annual report on what we consider to be current issues from legislation and policy that could raise such barriers. These include, for example, barriers for people who live in one country but work in another, or barriers that prevent local authorities from collaborating on cross-border projects. By identifying and analysing these themes, ITEM aims to contribute both to the scientific debate and to the improvement of (policies on) cross-border mobility and the socio-economic development of border regions in practice.
This year’s topics:
1.Euroregional Barometer: broad prosperity indicators from a cross-border perspective
Globally, attention to the idea of measuring and promoting prosperity in the broad sense is increasing, such as under the Sustainable Development Goals and in the Netherlands under “Brede Welvaart. In the Netherlands, it has become a popular concept at the national level as well as in provincial and local government agreements. It encompasses everything people consider of value. In addition to material prosperity (including gross domestic product), it also includes intangible prosperity (well-being) such as the living environment, social cohesion, health and safety. In the Netherlands, Broad Prosperity is measured by various monitors and qualitative and quantitative indicators. Like, for example, the EU Regional Competiveness Index and OECD Regional Wellbeing Index. For all existing indices and broad welfare approaches, although these are also available regionally, they are not cross-national. This does not take into account cross-border regions, what exists across borders and what interactions exist across borders. For example, how can the topic of living (including distance to elementary school and distance to café) be reliably measured if residents cross the border for these activities?
In this dossier, the indicators of Brede Welvaart in the Netherlands are examined from a cross-border perspective. This file is a follow-up to the 2022 Euregional Perception file and a prelude to the creation of a Euregional Barometer, in which ITEM will make the situation in the cross-border regions more transparent and measurable. In doing so, ITEM will create a first pilot for a baseline measurement in a number of cross-border regions.
Potential effects on border regions of ongoing transnational/cross-border infrastructure projects
There are currently impressive plans for cross-border infrastructure projects that cross NL/BE/DE borders. In the case of hydrogen infrastructure, waterways, rail infrastructure, there is the understanding that because of ambitions on on climate change and legal obligations, it must be realised in a relatively short time. Or, as in the case of the Einstein telescope in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, spatial planning decisions, permits and grant funding should be synchronised across borders to avoid harmful delays and shortcomings.
This border impact file will examine the various projects and ambitions and the central question is aimed at uncovering the missing link: do we have the right tools to tackle these kinds of cross-border challenges? And do we know which partner has the right cross-border competences? Are there certain obstacles that can be detected as common problems for the mentioned infrastructure projects? And what are innovative tools to facilitate and accelerate large cross-border infrastructure projects?
3. Kinderzuschlag (DE)-Kindgebonden budget (NL): The border worker between shore and ship?
Kinderzuschlag is a supplement to child benefit in Germany. It is intended for low-income families. Since last year, the applicant does have to live in Germany to receive the supplement. In the Netherlands, the income-dependent supplement is called the child budget. The right to this supplement is linked to the right to child benefit. In a situation where, for example, a (single) parent lives in the Netherlands and works in Germany, he may not be eligible for either benefit. Especially for people with lower incomes, this has major consequences. Is this situation in line with European law and do both countries correctly interpret regulations in cross-border situations? Why is the child benefit not exported as it was before 2022? One may also question whether the limitation of the child budget to the entitlement to Dutch child benefits is justified under EU law.
4. Future-proof acute care in the Netherlands: 360° cross-border perspectives
The Minister of Health, Welfare, and Sport (Ernst Kuipers) has proposed concentrating acute care in response to rising demand for emergency care and personnel shortages in the Netherlands. However, concerns have been raised what effect this proposal has on the proximity and quality of care in border regions, where patients already face long distances to healthcare services. While the proposal emphasises the importance of enhanced regional cooperation in the delivery of care and patient distribution, it raises the question of whether adequate attention is given to the impact and opportunities in euregional and cross-border cooperation.
5. Public transport in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (PREMIUM project)
How to improve cross-border transport between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany? Cross-border public transport is a crucial part of Euregional mobility. The question how cross-border public transportation is affected by national legislation or policies and what can be done to improve it, is the core issue of this project. Adequate public transport is an important factor in lowering the emission across Europe, several studies have shown the limitations or missing links to cross-border mobility. Within the PREMIUM project, a multidisciplinary student team will conduct a Cross-border Impact Assessment of the state of affairs of (sustainable) cross-border public transportation.
The expertise centre ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euroregional Cross-border Cooperation and Mobility) is active in the field of convergence of research, consulting, knowledge exchange and training activities in the field of cross-border mobility and cooperation.