Health crisis

Introduction

In March 2020, Europe was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the measures taken by States to combat it, some affected national borders in a disproportionate way. The sudden closure of very open borders by most States overnight had serious consequences for cross-border areas. It revealed the contradiction between the reality of people’s daily cross-border lives and the obvious lack of coordination of national policies, which not only greatly disrupted this daily life (beyond the legitimate constraints that people had to endure), but also led to the resurgence of negative and erroneous perceptions of the border and the neighboring country.

Institutions were challenged by this crisis, particularly those responsible for border governance, whose shortcomings it revealed. The crisis highlighted the many socio-economic and human interdependencies, not only at the global or European level, but also at the local cross-border level. These interdependencies now call for building or strengthening cross-border and European integration that is also political.

The health crisis affected residents of all regions, but even more so the border regions. In general, the lessons learned from the pandemic should allow for a more rigorous and shared rethinking of borders, which is essential for more appropriate treatment by public policies, in service of the people.

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