Abstract

Within the European Union, border regions represent 40% of its territory and they are home to a third of the EU’s population. Located at the edge of national borders (i.e. the EU’s internal borders), these regions provide opportunities to reap benefits from interactions of different cultures, languages, markets, and societies. However, from a law-making point of view, these regions – and particularly their cross-border 'conglomerates' – provide rather challenging subjects. The article's central question is how a cross-border impact assessment during the legislative process can ensure better regulation in the light of regional policy. The first section reflects on the nature and origins of obstacles to mobility and cooperation experienced by cross-border regions. It will provide concrete case examples of EU policies where so-called ‘cross-border effects’ can be analysed. The second section presents existing approaches and methods for identifying and assessing possible effects for cross-border regions. In addition, the practice of a bottom-up regulatory cross-border impact assessment will be discussed. The third section elaborates further on what the current state of affairs in EU’s policy-making and impact assessment looks like. Finally, we will discuss how a cross-border impact assessment would fit within the procedure of EU’s policy-making and other initiatives and conclude with some policy recommendations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-67
JournalEuropean Journal of Law Reform
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • border regions
  • cross-border cooperation
  • impact assessment
  • evidence-based policy
  • territorial cohesion

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