On behalf of the European Commission, the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) opened the 4th call for proposals in the framework of the b-solutions initiative on 15 January 2021.
B-solutions initiative (four year pilot initiative) is one of the actions proposed in in the Communication “Boosting growth and cohesion policy in EU border regions” (COM(207)534), where it was shown that solving only one fifth of existing problems could have an impact of 2% GDP growth in border regions.
The aim of initiative is to provide solutions addressing specific legal and administrative obstacles that are preventing cross-border cooperation actions, by receiving legal assistance in finding a root causes of an existing obstacles, as well as in advice how to solve it.
The object of 4th call for proposals is to address cases where interactions across the border are more difficult because of the lack of coherence of legislation applicable on the different sides of the border, inconsistencies and overlapping of the different administrative procedures, and applicable European, national or regional legislation does not take into account the specificity of cross-border interactions.
Eligible applicants for 4th call for proposals are public and public equivalent bodies (national, regional, local) with a national boundary limiting their territory and cross-border entities (e.g. European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs), Euroregions, Eurodistricts, Eurocities and similar cross border structures with legal personality, even if they are not public bodies).
Selected applicants will be assigned the support of legal experts with particular knowledge of cross-border instances who will cooperate with the participants in b-solutions. The expert’s consultation aims to grant support in defining the obstacle clearly and systematically, as well as in identifying a possible solution to it and outline the legal framework from which to proceed.
For more information on 4th call for proposals, please visit https://www.b-solutionsproject.com/call-for-proposals
The deadline for submitting applications is 11 March 2021.
Please note that two online info-sessions will be held with the aim to reply to any questions on the initiative itself and provide guidance throughout the application process.
The sessions will be held in English and will take place on:
• Tuesday, 2nd of February at 12:00 CET;
• Thursday, 18th of February at 12:00 CET.
Please register here for any of the two sessions
For additional questions or doubts please contact b-solution initiative via mail: b-solutions@aebr.eu
It is to be noted that after two successful calls for proposals (third is still in implementing phase), in order to enable insight to all stakeholders, the results of implemented projects and received consultations during the implementation have been published in compendium (b-solutions: Solving Border Obstacles). The Annex of compendium provides detailed information for each of the 43 cases already supported.
