Cross Border Information Services in Europe and Ireland / Northern Ireland

More than one third of EU citizens live in cross-border regions. For many individuals crossing the border for work, to visit family, to shop, for leisure, to study or to retire is a natural occurrence.

Despite efforts from the EU to protect the right to free movement there remain many well documented obstacles to cross-border mobility encountered by citizens and frontier workers.

Obstacles identified in Ireland / Northern Ireland by the Border People project include:

• Lack of awareness
• Lack of clear information
• Differences in social welfare
• Complex tax systems
• Retirement and pension entitlement
• Access to healthcare
• Recognition of qualifications
• Access to trained cross-border advisors

In response to these and other issues many European countries have established citizens’ information services that provide tailored cross-border information and advice and guidance.

The following paper briefly explains the BordInfo project which outlines what is needed in such a service. This is followed brief examples of services found in four EU border regions.

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