In an interview with Euractiv, ECR Member Pavel Branda highlighted the need for an appropriate legislative framework for the development of cross-border public services, which are a "more sophisticated form of cross-border cooperation". Mr Branda, who is also the deputy mayor of the municipality of Rádlo in the Czech Republic, provided examples of cross-border public services, which he first defined as "services of public interest that are provided on a long-term basis in a cross-border region on two or more sides of the border that focus on common challenges and on the combined development potential of the region".​ 

For Mr Branda, the key to the development of cross-border services is long-term cooperation at local and regional level with three main factors at play: the longevity of cooperation, the fact that conditions for cooperation depend on governments, and the population density at borders. Cities, municipalities and regions are the main actors in cross-border cooperation, which are at the sub-national level, and according to Mr Branda "the state should create the right conditions for these sub-national actors".

With regards to the role of EU funds in the development of cross-border public services, Mr Branda stated that "funding is needed first and foremost in the initial phase, when everything is being put together and to kickstart cooperation". This is where Interreg (programme for interregional cooperation) "plays a key role", he said. However, local, regional and where appropriate, national resources must also be involved as "the role of EU funds is not sustainable in the long term to finance cooperation".

Mr Branda described the onset of the coronavirus pandemic as having had detrimental consequences for cross-border cooperation, in particular, in key areas such as health and care services for older people who are dependent on cross-border workers. Mr Branda gave the example of Saxony, where many doctors, nurses and carers from the Czech Republic work and in some cases, it took weeks to negotiate the conditions under which they could travel across borders for work.

In order to ensure a bare minimum standard of cooperation being maintained in such crises, the Committee of the Regions has put forward a new initiative, which Mr Branda says aims to "avoid the total unilateral closure of borders, which has been unprecedented and has had a major impact on cross-border cooperation that was built up gradually over many years". On the other hand, the pandemic also demonstrated that local and regional authorities were often "succeeding in finding ways to work together across borders, in spite of the difficult conditions", he explained.

Looking forward to the future of cross-border cooperation and public services after 2020, Mr Branda said that we have come a long way but there is still room for further development, which he envisaged could take place on "building a cross-border identity and creating connections with the other side of the border". He concluded by saying that there is also room for improvement when it comes to SMEs and that companies should consider cross-border cooperation.

Mr Pavel Branda was appointed rapporteur by the European Committee of the Regions for the opinion on Cross-Border Public Services. The opinion will be adopted in the upcoming 2021 plenary session of the CoR.

Full interview in Euractiv can be found here.