In a bid to put cross-border cooperation back at the top of the EU's policy agenda, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted a resolution during the July plenary session calling on the European Commission to present a proposal for maintaining cross-border cooperation and cross-border life in the event of future crises. The resolution contains multiple proposals to improve cross-border cooperation and calls on the European Commission to follow up on already existing legislation and treaties, whose implementation could often still be improved.

ECR Member Pavel Branda who was rapporteur on a recent CoR opinion on Cross-Border Public Services and who serves as Chair of the CoR's interregional group on cross-border cooperation, said: “It is very good that the Committee of the Regions has taken on the task of representing border regions and their citizens in the Conference on the Future of Europe. We must put cross-border cooperation where it belongs – at the very heart of the European integration project. Cross-border cooperation is one of the biggest successes of the European Union and must play an even greater role in its future. It is at the borders where the real benefits of European integration are being experienced by citizens. Today's resolution suggests concrete steps to further improve their everyday lives at the borders."

​An event on the "Future of Cross-Border Cooperation", organised together with the other founding partners of the European Cross-Border Citizens' Alliance, feeds into this objective. During the event, which took place on 5 July, Pavel Branda, who also serves as Deputy Mayor of Rádlo Municipality, along with the other participants discussed the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, identified the ongoing and future challenges for cross-border regions, and held a debate on the vision for cross-border cooperation as part of the future of Europe.