The AEBR General Assembly and Annual Conference 2026, hosted by the East Border Regions Committee, will take place in Carrickmacross and Dundalk, Ireland, from 28 to 31 October 2026.
The AEBR General Assembly, conference dinner with Sail of Papenburg Award presentation, Two-Day Annual Conference plus Social Programme, and Study Visit will take place at the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, Ireland, and at other locations in the East Border Region, including across the border in Northern Ireland.
Please note: You may need to apply for a personal ETA to cross the border to Northern Ireland if you are travelling from EU countries (online processing time is usually approx. one week).
Please refer to the Practical Information document for information on how to get there (Dublin Airport is the best option), the AEBR conference hotels, shuttle availability, ETA-Visa requirements for the Dinner on Friday and the study visit on Saturday and any other info:
Practical Information East Border Region FINAL 2026
Praktische Informationen East Border Region Final 2026 DE
As customary, the X AEBR Cross-Border School will take place on the day preceding the Annual Events, at the Dundalk Institute of Technology in Dundalk, on the 28 of October 26. The programme is available: Programme AEBR X Cross Border School 2026
The AEBR Cross-Border School will take place in English only; for the Annual Events, translation in DE and EN is available.
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Association of European Border Regions (AEBR/AGEG/ARFE) Annual Conference and Events 2026 29–31 October 2026 · Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan in association with East Border Region (EBR) ‘Cross-Border Regions as Catalysts Master of Ceremonies: Pamela Arthurs, Chief Executive, East Border Region |
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| 29/10/26 | Day 1 Nuremore Estate, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Ireland A81 V521 |
| 08.30 | Registration and Coffee |
| 09.00 | AEBR General Assembly |
| 11.00 | Coffee Break |
| 11.30 | Formal Opening of AEBR Annual Conference
This session: Welcome address: Cllr Aidan Campbell, Cathaoirleach, Ministerial Address: Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Government of Ireland Ministerial Address: Michelle O’Neill MLA, First Minister of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Ministerial Address: Niamh Smyth TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, Government of Ireland AEBR President Address: Joris Bengevoord European Commission: Nathalie Verschelde, Head of Unit D2, DG REGIO, European Commission EBR Chairman Address: Cllr PJ O’Hanlon |
| 12.00 | Session 1:
50 Years of Peace-making through Cross-Border Cooperation Moderated by East Border Region This session will explore and showcase best practice and achievements in cross-border cooperation as peacebuilding in the Ireland/Northern Ireland border region. Speakers: Pamela Arthurs, Chief Executive, East Border Region Gina McIntyre, Chief Executive Officer, Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), Managing Authority Dette Hughes, Programme Manager, East Border Region John O’Hagan, Narrow Water Bridge Project, Senior Engineer, Louth County Council Paul Boylan, Director of Programmes and Strategic Development, Cooperation Ireland |
| 13.30 | Lunch |
| 14.15 | Session 2:
Resilient Borders Moderated by AEBR This session will explore key insights relevant to the role of cross-border cooperation and border regions in enhancing resilience. It will focus in particular on the themes of placemaking and multilevel governance, and enablers for spatially-driven development collaboration in cross-border regions. Moderator: Ana Nikolov, Head of AEBR Balkans Office Speakers: Professor Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria/Borders in Globalisation Lab (BiGlab) Gyula Ocskay, Secretary-General, Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI) Finn Olav Sveinall, Grensestatistik.no (Norwegian Border Statistics Portal) Hanne Alstrup Velure, Deputy County Mayor of Innlandet, and Member of the AEBR Executive Committee Vadym Shkarivskyi, Deputy Chairman of Odesa Regional Council (video message) |
| 15.30 | Coffee Break |
| 15.45 | Session 3:
The Role of Citizen Engagement and Deliberative Democracy in Cross-Border Cooperation Moderated by AEBR This session will explore the role of deliberative and participatory democratic governance for cross-border development cooperation and in enhancing good democratic governance in border regions, including in the context of the Council of Europe New Democratic Pact for Europe. Moderator: Dirk Peters, Chairperson, AEBR Beirat Speakers: Sylvia Hirsch, Senior Project Manager, Common Ground Programme, Robert Bosch Stiftung Professor David Farrell, Full Professor of Politics, University College Dublin, and Member of the Advisory Board, Common Ground Programme Carsten Jacob, Manager (Geschäftsführer), Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober Florence Guillemin, Manager (Geschäftsführerin / Directrice Générale des Services), Eurodistrict Saar Moselle Luka Cavdek, Alumni Representative, AEBR Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) Project Anthony Soares, Director, Centre for Cross Border Cooperation |
| 17.00 | Day 1 Closing Remarks – Pamela Arthurs, Chief Executive, East Border Region |
| 19.00 | Civic Reception hosted by Monaghan County Council |
| 19.45 | Presentation of Sail of Papenburg – presented by Ard van der Tuuk (Vice-President of AEBR) and Martin Guillermo-Ramirez |
| 20.00 | Gala Dinner with EBR Chairman’s Remarks |
| 22.30 | Buses Depart to Hotels in Monaghan and Carrickmacross |
| 30/10/26 | Day 2 Nuremore Estate, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Ireland A81 V521 |
| 09.30 | Session 4:
Cross-Border Cooperation in a Thriving and Enlarged Europe Moderated by AEBR This session will discuss the significance of cross-border cooperation and the role of border regions in EU cohesion, EU enlargement, and in EU neighbourhood territorial diplomacy. Moderator: Caitriona Mullan, Advisor, AEBR/b-solutions Speakers: Speaker from UK Region (TBC) Sanda Šimić, Policy Expert, National Alliance for Local Economic Development, (NALED), Serbia Nikoletta Horvath, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary Ionut Raita, Head of Programmes Unit, Romania–Ukraine Office for Cross-Border Cooperation (joining online from Kyiv) Eveliina Lohko, 2nd Vice Chair of the Board of the South Karelia Regional Council, Finland |
| 11.00 | Coffee Break |
| 11.30 | Session 5:
The Future of Cohesion Policy Moderated by AEBR This session will discuss the future of cohesion policy with a focus on the role of border regions and cross-border cooperation in a comprehensive approach to cohesion across Europe. Moderator: Martin Guillermo-Ramirez, Secretary-General, AEBR Speakers: Ms Ana Ollo Hualde, Vice President of the Government of Navarra in charge of Memory, Coexistence, External Affairs and Basque Language (video contribution) Nathalie Verschelde, Head of Unit D2, DG REGIO, European Commission Andrew Condon, Principal Officer, EU Cohesion Funds and North South, EU Structural Funds, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Ireland EU Presidency Pavel Branda, Vice President of AEBR and Euregio Neisse-Nysa-Nisa, Member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Chairman of the European Cross-Border Platform (ECBP) and the CoR’s Intergroup on Cross Border Cooperation Arola Urdangarín, Basque Government |
| 13.00 | Lunch |
| 14.00-17.00 | Optional Excursions:
Brehon Brewhouse & Patrick Kavanagh Centre (Delegates will be transported back to hotels at 5pm) |
| 18.45 | Buses Leave for Evening Programme in Northern Ireland
Venue: Armagh City Hotel, 2 Friary Road, Armagh BT60 4FR (please note: ETA visa required) |
| 19.15 | Civic Reception sponsored by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council |
| 20.00 | Gala Dinner Keynote address from Lord Mayor Mary O’Dowd and EBR Vice-Chairman Tim McClelland |
| 22.30 | Buses Depart to Hotels in Monaghan and Carrickmacross |
| 31/10/26 | Day 3 Excursion – Carlingford, Ireland (please note: ETA visa required) |
| 09.30 | Bus Departs for Excursion (from Carrickmacross and Monaghan Hotels) |
| 10.30 | Visit to the site of the Narrow Water Bridge
The first physical link between Ireland and Northern Ireland which is currently under construction |
| 11.30 | Arrive in Carlingford, County Louth. Free time to explore this medieval coastal town on the shore of Carlingford Lough |
| 12.30 | Lunch in McKevitts Hotel, Carlingford |
| 13.30 | Bus Departs for Dublin Airport |
| 15.00 | Bus Drop-Off at Dublin Airport |
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