Business

Despite decades of European financial stimulation for cross-border projects, the attention for cross-border cooperation (CBC) is still volatile. The focus on CBC has been fluctuating for decades, depending on political and economic trends among other aspects. Irrespective of that, it remains difficult to encourage citizens in the Dutch-German borderland to engage in cross-border working and living. Without commitment among citizens at grassroots level, CBC will primarily remain an enjoyable pastime for the euroregional elite. Based on scientific debates on border studies, this paper highlights CBC by reflecting on border-related policy. By way of illustration, this research will zoom in on the northern Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, one of the Dutch-German Euroregions. Based on some contemplations on Dutch-German cooperation in recent decades, this article concludes with some action-oriented principles for CBC which could contribute to strengthening its impact.

Okke Ornstein is an investigative journalist and an award-winning TV producer. He has an instinctive tendency to dig below the surface of things. He has filed stories for major media like NTR, Radio Netherlands, Het Parool, de Volkskrant and Newsmax. In late 2013, when he travelled with a Dutch organization to Syria and covered the first European humanitarian flight there.

Okke Ornstein is an investigative journalist and an award-winning TV producer. He has an instinctive tendency to dig below the surface of things. He has filed stories for major media like NTR, Radio Netherlands, Het Parool, de Volkskrant and Newsmax. In late 2013, when he travelled with a Dutch organization to Syria and covered the first European humanitarian flight there.

Okke Ornstein began his career as a video editor and worked in advertising. As a freelance producer at McCann-Erickson, he worked on radio and TV commercials for major brands: Coca-Cola, Black & Decker, World Wildlife Fund, Canon, Goodyear and the Reynolds Tobacco Company.