The conference investigates the manifold consequences of increasing cross-border interaction for the development of regions at the EU’s external borders and discusses about challenges to economic, social and territorial cohesion as well as regional development potentials as exemplified by different borderlands. The programme includes lectures and discussions on Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean regionalism, immigration, cultural integrity and memory politics. There will be several presentations on the events in Ukraine, as well as on the topics of democratisation and the challenges for the European Union with respect to the conflict in particular. There is a panel dedicated to the political implications of recent sport events such as the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the International Ice-hockey Championship in Belarus.
On the second day field trip to the Estonian-Russian border region Southern part will be organised, with the meetings an policy forum with local stakeholder in Setomaa region.
The conference is supported from EU FP7 “EUBORDERREGIONS” project, K.Adenauer Foundation, ALDA - The European Association for Local Democracy