Following the series of policy briefs elaborated by the B-Shapes project to support evidence-based policymaking and inclusive considerations for policymakers and those interested in the role of borders within the wider context of EU Cohesion policy and practice, we now present PB #6_Borderlands in Transformative Times – Policy Explorations by Martín Guillermo Ramírez and Caitriona Mullan (Association of European Border Regions) and Sara Svensson (Halmstad University). It presents the outcome of a policy seminar that discussed two contrasting scenarios illustrating the future of cross-border cooperation and integration in Europe. It was held at the Basque Delegation in Brussels on 2 July 2025 and gathered about 20 participants, including representatives of key institutions in Brussels (European Parliament, European Commission and the Committee of the Regions) as well as representatives of regional and local governments, EGTCs and Euroregions, NGOs and representatives of the B-Shapes consortium.
Borders Shaping Perceptions of European Societies (B-SHAPES) is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action project that analyses how borders remain a key factor in our understanding of societies. Eight European universities, one research institute, a national museum, a foundation, a political association, a consultancy, and an art collective have come together for three years[1]. The special border region focus promises new insights into how borders shape perceptions of societies, and how the story of borders can be narrated differently than from a purely national perspective.
This policy briefing paper is the sixth in a series produced by B-SHAPES to support evidence-based policymaking and inclusive considerations for policymakers and those interested in the role of borders within the broader context of EU Cohesion policy and practice. Unlike previous Briefs in the series, the 6th B-Shapes Policy Brief does not focus on the project’s empirical research; instead, it summarises policy-relevant observations and recommendations from a dialogue with policymakers at a policy seminar. During this meeting, policymakers discussed two contrasting scenarios that illustrate the future of cross-border cooperation and integration in Europe.
Modelling different scenarios produces two types of insights: a) what people feel would be the factors for dealing and responding to such a scenario; and b) those derived from the lenses people apply to every question and scenario. Some responses to the scenarios reflected ongoing awareness of the importance of border regions as places where citizens have a right to stay and as hubs of collaboration, development, and holistic, sustainable innovation. On the other hand, another set of responses to the scenarios strongly emphasised the role of military defence in border regions, shifting the dialogue from territorial cohesion principles towards a purely defence-oriented view of borders.
In this context, some of the reactions to the scenarios reflect what is already a recognised wider tension between rhetorics and narratives about meeting defence and readiness imperatives across EU territories, and narratives which continue to reflect borders as the place where ongoing approaches to development cooperation can still take place and in fact make a positive contribution to the stability of borderlands and EU integration in changing geopolitical circumstances. This is particularly important given the global longitudinal evidence base provided by the Global Peace Index (GPI) and its Positive Peace matrix, which the GPI uses to assess conflict risks. The 2025 GPI report “finds that global peacefulness continues to decline and that many of the leading factors that precede major conflicts are higher than they have been since the end of WWII. More countries are increasing their levels of militarisation against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, increasing conflict, the breakup of traditional alliances and rising economic uncertainty.”
Read the full Policy-Brief-#6 here
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[1] The Centre of Border Region Studies at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) coordinates B-SHAPES. Other partners in the consortium are: Brunel University London, Halmstad University, University of Oulu, University of Wroclaw, University of Strasbourg, ELTE University in Budapest, Technical University of Liberec in the Czech Republic, EURAC Research, the Bulgarian Museum of National History, the Lungomare artists’ collective in South Tyrol (Italy), the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR/AGEG/ARFE), KREATUS Consultancy, and the European Network Remembrance and Solidary Foundation.
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