Policy considerations

Abstract

In the final chapter, we offer a summary and discussion of the main findings of the research, and reflections on policy recommendations developed by authors on the basis of the partial research outcomes. The aim is, first, to create better conditions for cross‑border cooperation between regional and local actors on the Slovak–Ukrainian border, second, to enhance the permeability of the common border for the legal movement of people, goods, and services by improving border management, and third, to help improve the quality of life of Ukrainian and Slovak citizens living along the common border. The research confirms our initial assumption that the border regime and cross‑border cooperation are factors that have a marked impact on the socio‑economic situation in the border regions and, if handled appropriately, these could serve as tools for improving quality of life among residents of the border regions. Moreover, our research findings confirm that the Slovak–Ukrainian border and existing cross‑border cooperation offer relatively large scope for improving the effectiveness of their use. In particular, regional and local actors should make better use of the legal and financial opportunities set up to promote cross‑border cooperation on the EU’s external border, to interact more closely with each other, improve planning and project management, and contribute to overcoming the stereotypes that still persist in the Slovak–Ukrainian borderland, as these hinder rather than help the development of cross‑border interaction. In this final chapter, we highlight both the key research findings, explaining their contexts, and the policy recommendations that, in our opinion, are of strategic importance in further developing cross‑border cooperation on the Slovak–Ukrainian border. The chapter is structured into three parts that reflect the three levels of the research framework selected for the project research. In the first part, we reflect on the main issues relating to the impact of the EU–Ukraine institutional framework for developing cross‑border cooperation on the Slovak–Ukrainian border. In the second part, we discuss the main related issues of the bilateral intergovernmental agenda. And finally, in the third part we discuss the main findings on the relationship between the border regime and the socio‑economic conditions of the inhabitants of the border areas as well as policy recommendations for further developing cross‑border cooperation between Slovakia and Ukraine.