Borders and Border Spaces in the EU Volume 2

Which are the perceptions of the border in European border regions before and
after the COVID-19 pandemic? This Cahier Fare n°25 presents the results of the
Jean Monnet Network “Frontières en mouvement: quels modèles pour l’UE
(FRONTEM)?”, which was supported by the EU’s Erasmus+ program for the period
between 2019-2023.  The network exchanged knowledge and practices on five
different types of EU border perception: at the border between France and
Germany, at the border between France and Belgium, at the border between
Ireland and Northern Ireland, at the border between Rumania and Hungary and at
the border between Denmark and Germany. By analysing the results of focus
groups organised in and mental maps drawn for each of the 5 border regions
concerned, it critically examines the perception of the border as a place of
cross-border reconciliation, of minority co-existence and of peace
facilitation. The key question addressed by the network was to assess the
mental perception of the border when faced with processes of re-bordering and
the re-questioning of the model of a “Europe without borders”.