Identifying and removing obstacles
Overview
Towards a coordinated process for the removal of obstacles to cross-border cooperation
These different approaches form a template for a potential coordinated process across the different levels of governance.
At the level of each border
Numerous obstacles can be overcome at the level of each border, notably those of an administrative nature or resulting from a lack of knowledge, of concertation, or of cross-border coordination, between local/regional actors (local and regional authorities, decentralised government departments,…) on either side of the border.
On a given border, the removal of an obstacle can require changes in the law of one or both (or more) of the countries concerned, or even an inter-state agreement; in this case, at the central level the national governments (or federated state governments) concerned will need to be involved.
It would be desirable to transpose to each border the approach undertaken by the French-Belgian parliamentary group, enabling actors to deal with what they can at the local level while bringing remaining obstacles to the attention of the superior level of governance.
Cf. Letter from Philippe Richert to François Hollande, 15 March 2016 [in French]: click here.
