#ACCESS featured in an Interreg online workshop on better cross-border governance

09 October 2025

#ACCESS featured in an Interreg online workshop on better cross-border governance

09 October 2025

The recording of an online workshop featuring the #ACCESS project is now available to watch. The session brought together three Interreg initiatives under the ISO1 priority of better cooperating governance – Alcotraité, #ACCESS, and Schakelpunt Grensbelemmeringen – to share practical ways of tackling cross-border obstacles across governance levels, borders and institutions. The workshop was co-organised by ITEM, AEBR, and Interact, and is directly linked to the European Week of Regions and Cities: it will feed into the dialogue session “A Dialogue for Enhanced Cross-Border Cooperation to Shape the BRIDGEforEU Regulation” on 15 October 2025.

Why this matters
Cross-border regions face similar barriers – legal mismatches, administrative burdens, and fragmented coordination – even when the contexts differ. By placing three projects side by side, the workshop surfaces transferable methods for diagnosing obstacles, aligning stakeholders, and converting evidence into policy-relevant solutions. For #ACCESS specifically, the discussion situates legal accessibility along the Slovak-Hungarian border within a broader European effort to reduce cross-border friction and strengthen everyday cooperation.

Highlights at a glance

  • Alcotraité (38:45–1:02:09): Marco Rolandi outlines approaches to strengthen governance in the French-Italian border region, including mechanisms for joint decision-making and harmonised practices that can be adapted in other Alpine and non-Alpine contexts.
  • Schakelpunt Grensbelemmeringen (06:30-38:44): Maarten Vidal presents a problem-solving interface that identifies, classifies, and escalates border obstacles showing how a structured funnel from case intake to policy change can shorten the distance between citizens’ problems and institutional responses.
  • #ACCESS (1:02:10–1:24:16) — Presented by Melinda Istenes-Benczi, #ACCESS focuses on promoting legal accessibility along the Slovak-Hungarian border. The project demonstrates how mapping legal barriers, clarifying competences, and piloting targeted remedies can improve services and mobility for residents and businesses.
  • Towards BRIDGEforEU (1:24:17-1:27:31): Pim Mertens synthesises shared lessons to inform the post-2027 debate and the emerging BRIDGEforEU framework.

Reflections & next steps (1:27:32-1:40:36): Joint discussion, information on AEBR’s upcoming call (Mariane Bloudeau), and closing remarks from Interact.

Three Recommendations for Experts and Policymakers

  • Start from concrete cases, not abstract concepts. Clear categories and models make it possible to turn individual complaints into practical solution packages that public institutions can effectively process and prioritize.
  • When designing solutions, take into account multiple governance levels. Sustainable impact requires linking local practice with national or regional regulatory frameworks – and successful projects establish this dialogue from the very beginning.
  • Make legal aspects accessible to users. The goal is not legal complexity but legal accessibility: simple procedures, harmonized rules, and predictable mechanisms that enable smooth cross-border interaction.

Full workshop recording:
Jump to #ACCESS: 1:02:10-1:24:16

Building partnership!

The project is financially supported by the European Union,
within the framework of the Interreg Hungary – Slovakia Programme.

For more information visit www.skhu.eu.

Building partnership!

The project is financially supported by the European Union,
within the framework of the Interreg Hungary – Slovakia Programme.

For more information visit www.skhu.eu.

Summary report of the reference group workshopsVisual information materials have been produced on the functioning of the BRIDGEforEU...