06 May MEP Manuela Ripa (ÖDP) calls for easier cooperation on cross-border projects

Ripa: "Today's vote is a missed opportunity to strengthen border regions"

(Strasbourg/06.05.2025) Poorly coordinated local transport connections, problems with doctor's appointments, different administrative structures - people in border regions can tell you a lot about the hurdles they face in everyday life and how things don't work well. The EU Commission in Brussels therefore proposed a law on better cross-border cooperation several years ago. This was adopted today in a revised form by the European Parliament in Strasbourg ("Border Regions Instrument for Development and Growth in the EU, BRIDGEforEU"). However, the text is a compromise - only parts of the original far-reaching proposals remain.

Initially, it was envisaged that, in certain cases, the legislation of one EU country could also be applied in a neighboring EU country. However, several EU countries rejected this. "This took away the opportunity to remove legal and administrative hurdles more quickly, so that projects such as cross-border streetcar connections, for example, are not severely delayed due to different technical regulations," regrets Manuela Ripa, Member of the European Parliament for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP).

Ripa welcomes the fact that, after seven years of discussion, a proposal to resolve cross-border obstacles is finally on the table. "It's good that today's law gives us a basis at all - it's a first step towards better coexistence for border regions," said Ripa. "Unfortunately, however, the text does not go far enough: instead of binding instruments, it remains a voluntary approach without clear obligations. In future, there are to be cross-border coordination bodies to which companies can turn with problems and suggestions. But they are only to be set up on a voluntary basis. This will not make life much easier in border regions."

Manuela Ripa points out that people in her home federal state of Saarland experience on a daily basis what European cooperation really means. The SaarLorLux Greater Region - like other border regions - is a real-life laboratory of European integration. The MEP explains that 150 million people live in EU border regions. However, instead of making everyday life in these regions easier, different administrative procedures, incompatible legal systems and a lack of coordination continue to cause considerable difficulties. For many citizens, this means that healthcare services, access to schools, mobility and the recognition of professional qualifications are all complicated. According to estimates by the European Parliament, the removal of barriers could save up to 500 billion euros a year - an enormous potential. The ÖDP MEP commented: "We must finally strengthen cross-border cooperation and remove the existing obstacles - for example in transport or healthcare. This requires political foresight to overcome national blockades in order to give regions like SaarLorLux the leeway they need."