MOT publications and studies

The workshops of the Borders Forum 2024 brought together stakeholders from various levels of cooperation - local, national and European - to exchange and propose concrete recommendations on ten key themes of cooperation; the objective: to resolve the cross-border «blockages» that affect the daily lives of local residents of cross-border living areas,and restore confidence in Europe by developing a sense of «cross-border” and «European» citizenship.

The MOT study for DG REGIO assesses two years of pandemic-related border management and its impact on border regions; and makes recommendations for future management, also taking into account the current revision of the Schengen Borders Code. It updates the report "The effects of COVID-19 induced border closures on cross-border regions," published in January 2021.

In July 2020, the MOT was tasked by DG REGIO to conduct an empirical analysis of the effects of the restrictions imposed by governments in the first wave of the pandemic (March-June 2020) on the inhabitants of border regions. In order to carry out this assignment, the contributions received by members of the MOT network were analysed and, with the help of its European partners (CESCI and the AEBR), more than twenty players on other European borders were questioned. The resulting study, entitled “The effects of COVID-19 induced border closures on cross-border regions”, is now available.

To mark its 20th anniversary, the MOT has published a brochure providing an opportunity to take stock of its work and look ahead to the future, and, more broadly, to assess the state of cross-border cooperation in Europe. The projects presented showcase the results of more than 20 years of cooperation. Twenty unique initiatives carried out by MOT members to benefit residents of cross-border regions are highlighted, along with other projects submitted by MOT members following the network’s call for proposals.

The question of the role of civil society in cross-border cooperation is crucial. It is a return to the sources, an increasing awareness of the very purpose of cross-border cooperation and, in a broader sense, of the construction of Europe. The topic covers civil society both as a player in cross-border cooperation and as a recipient of public-sector projects or a consumer of cultural and information provision.