Events by this organizer

While the European Single Railway Area has been started 25 years ago and EU citizens are benefiting of freedom of movement in the EU, crossing borders by rail is still not a given. Especially, public transport by rail in and between cross-border regions is more challenging compared to transnational high-speed connections. During the Benelux/ITEM workshop, we already have touched upon that discussion. In 2018, DG REGIO published the report with promising missing rail links between cross-border regions. It inspired Jon Worth to travel with all cross-border rail services across the EU: the #CrossBorderRail project.  His project is coming to an end, with currently 311 cross-border rail links visited and investigated. Jon Worth will share and disseminate is experiences, conclusions and recommendations during our Next ITEM. The event will take place in a hybrid manner: both in person in Maastricht and online.

More infos & registration: ITEM.

Ensuring smooth recognition of diplomas and professional qualifications is a key driver of labour mobility—a priority for the Benelux Union and its cross-border regions. In the face of growing labour shortages and evolving professional sectors, removing barriers to mobility is more urgent than ever.

It is in this context that the Benelux-ITEM Conference takes place, organised under the 2025 Luxembourg Presidency of the Benelux Union, which has made this issue a priority. The Benelux countries are joining forces with national, regional, and community authorities to improve recognition mechanisms and promote access to cross-border employment.

This event is organised in partnership with the Benelux Union and ITEM (Maastricht University) and aims to advance the recognition of professional qualifications in the Benelux and its neighbouring cross-border regions by:

• Sharing recent outcomes from Benelux initiatives;
• Presenting the 2025 ITEM Cross-Border Impact Assessment on 360° cross-border labour market: recognition challenges and solutions in border regions;
• Highlighting the complementarity between actions carried out within the Benelux and efforts at EU level (e.g. Union of Skills, Directive 2005/36/EC) and within various cross-border cooperation frameworks;
• Providing a dedicated platform for policy makers and experts to share best practices and solutions, and to strengthen cross-border cooperation.

More infos & registration: ITEM.

The freshly approved BRIDGEforEU Regulation will help local authorities improve life in border regions for citizens, administrations and businesses. How can existing tools like the b-solutions initiative and Interreg help shape the new regulation? What role can Interreg programmes play? What are the current experiences with ISO 1 Interreg projects and how does that translate to the set-up of Cross-Border Coordination Points? In a joint dialogue enriched with audience Q&A and an interactive panel, we aim to bring past experiences from various border regions to the benefit of the nascent BRIDGEforEU Regulation and the implications for cohesion post-2027.

Registration & more information: European Week of Regions and Cities.