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At the evening before the ITEM Annual Conference 2022, ITEM was happy to welcome the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Hanke Bruins Slot, in Groningen. During the dinner, the Minister provided the audience with an interesting and powerful speech on cross-border cooperation, stressing the necessity thereof. Cross-border cooperation cannot be taken for granted, we need to strengthen and invest in it.
“Indeed, we need to strengthen the cross-border cooperation structures. This requires an organized multi-level governance, continuous attention and awareness of policymakers, and effective use and promotion of cross-border projects and instruments. The results of the Annual Conference and the ITEM researches undertaken under the Cross-Border Impact Assessment underline this.”, ITEM-director prof. dr. Anouk Bollen-Vandenboorn reacts.
It is therefore of great importance that cross-border cooperation is also not neglected or taken as granted in the upcoming Provincial elections. “In the upcoming period, everyone must play their part to give the resident of the border region their chances of a liveable and promising living environment to prosper on the border.”, prof. dr. Anouk Bollen-Vandenboorn recalls.
The importance of cross-border cooperation and the horizontal dimension in European Integration was also stressed by prof. dr. Joachim Beck in his presentation. “Cross-border cooperation is underestimated in the European debate, although it is very important”. His presentation will be posted soon on the ITEM Annual Conference 2022 event page.
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