AEBR invites stakeholders from border regions to participate in the upcoming strategic workshop dedicated to strengthening cross‑border environmental cooperation. Building on the experience of the b‑solutions initiative, the workshop will examine practical cases and recurring administrative or legal obstacles that affect the joint management of natural resources across borders.
This workshop is the third of four strategic workshops, each addressing a different thematic of b‑solutions and highlighting lessons learned from real cases supported under the initiative.
The session will be moderated by:
Caitriona Mullan is advisor to the AEBR/DG REGIO b-solutions initiative. Her technical background includes three decades of public service and policy work in central and local government, regional development, EU Funds, health systems, and cross border tertiary research and education. Caitriona is a Senior External Expert for the European Commission (DG REGIO), and an International Expert with the Council of Europe/Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Centre of Expertise in Multilevel Governance. Caitriona lectures on the MA in Territorial Diplomacy at Sciences Po, University of Strasbourg and is a practitioner reviewer for the Journal of European Planning Studies and for the international Journal of Borderlands.
The event will feature contributions from practitioners directly involved in cross‑border environmental cooperation:
Olivera Antić is a senior environmental engineer and consultant with over 20 years of professional experience in water resources management, climate resilience, environmental protection, and infrastructure development. She has supported the World Bank, European Union, UNDP, UNOPS, GIZ, and national authorities throughout the Western Balkans on water, wastewater, flood risk management, and climate adaptation projects. Her work includes EU IPA programming, transboundary water cooperation, river basin management, and environmental governance. Olivera served as Serbia’s Permanent Representative to the ICPDR expert groups and has extensive experience in strengthening cross-border cooperation and alignment with EU environmental acquis.
Sónia Antunes is Technical Secretary of the Rio Minho EGTC, the cross-border cooperation structure bringing together 26 municipalities from northern Portugal and Galicia. With a background in Geography and Territorial Planning, she has worked since 2006 on territorial development, European cooperation and the management of successive Interreg POCTEP programmes. She has extensive experience in cross-border governance, strategic planning and the coordination of European projects, particularly in the fields of environmental sustainability, territorial cohesion and multi-level governance.
Catherine Christiaens lives in Menen and is involved in the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis, where she works to promote cross-border cooperation in the fields of culture, water-based experiences and social cohesion. She is the coordinator of the Het Blauwe Park project, an ambitious European initiative that brings together water, nature, recreation, tourism and soft mobility in the border region between France, Flanders and Wallonia. She also facilitates cultural projects and meetings between organisations, residents and partners from the Eurometropolis. She is a firm believer in cross-border cooperation and is passionate about fostering sustainable connections, culture, landscape and international exchange.
Dr Péter Merza is the director of Pannon EGTC and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs. He holds a PhD summa cum laude in regional development and EU regional policy. For more than two decades, he has led EU-funded urban, regional and cross-border development programmes in southern Hungary, including municipal development, investment promotion and major city projects. His teaching and professional work focus on project planning and management, local economic development and the transition to a circular economy. In b-solutions, he brings practical experience in addressing legal obstacles to Hungarian-Croatian cross-border energy communities.
The workshop will take place online on 23 June 2026, from 13:00 to 14:00 CEST.
Registration is available here: https://forms.gle/jAXx3NfP4Na8tf5V6
The event is open to anyone interested. Participants will have the opportunity to exchange with practitioners and discuss approaches to overcoming obstacles that hinder effective environmental governance in border regions.
