ECR COTER coordinator Pavel Branda has been appointed rapporteur for the European Committee of the Regions' opinion on "Solving obstacles to the cooperation of emergency services in the EU’s border regions".

Upon his appointment, Mr Branda explained the many obstacles in cross-border cooperation, both legal and administrative, and one of the most reported types of obstacles are those in emergency services. He gave the example of "EU borders where many ambulances cannot cross despite this endangering peoples' lives, nor can citizens use the nearest hospital".

The opinion will follow up on Mr Branda's 2021 opinion on cross-border public services, but will further elaborate on the specific area of rescue services and investigate the possibilities to resolve their obstacles, also looking into potential new EU legislation on the matter.

The draft opinion is scheduled to be adopted in the September COTER commission meeting before being put to vote in the CoR November plenary session.