To put cross-border cooperation back into the heart of the European project. Joint declaration of AEBR, MOT and CESCI

Considering the unfavourable evolution of the European discourse on open borders, the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT) and the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI) adopted a joint political declaration with an aim of putting cross-border cooperation back into the heart of the European project. The declaration was introduced at the 2^nd Borders Forum held on 21 and 22 June in Paris.

The declaration recalls the negative impacts of the national measures answering the last three crises, namely the migration crisis in 2015, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and the Russian invasion against Ukraine in 2022, on the concept of borderless Europe. The three associations which decided to step up jointly for the interests of the border areas on 7 October 2021 in Strasbourg, urge the national governments and the European institutions to unite their forces in order to protect the unique European achievements of free movement across the borders – as the AEBR, MOT and CESCI plan to do. The text of the declaration is available here.