Quarterly Survey on the Conditions for North-South and East-West Cooperation Strikes Positive Note
The Centre for Cross Border Studies’ 10th Quarterly Survey on the Conditions for North-South and East-West Cooperation (published in May) strikes a more positive note than the previous two surveys with more people saying that the situation is improving.
The report attributes this broadly to the Windsor Framework agreed between the UK and EU to mitigate against issues that have become apparent in the Protocol for Ireland/Northern Ireland and, more generally, the improving relationship between the UK and EU under Rishi Sunak and is giving people engaged in collaboration, both North-South and East-West, cause for (cautious) optimism.
The responses, which were received from civic society organisations and local authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, have helped the Centre for Cross Border Studies assess how the necessary conditions for North-South cooperation are being maintained, and how relations between organisations on the island of Ireland and Great Britain are being safeguarded since the end of the Brexit Transition Period and the implementation of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol. The feedback, which has been added to the results of previous surveys in the series, will help them gain a picture of the concerns and challenges being experienced by organisations on the ground. They will be used by the Centre for Cross Border Studies as it works with other organisations to protect North-South and East-West relations.
The Centre for Cross Border Studies, based in Armagh, Northern Ireland, has a strong reputation as an authoritative advocate for cross-border cooperation and as a valued source of research, information and support for collaboration across borders on the island of Ireland, Europe and beyond. The Centre empowers citizens and builds capacity and capability for cooperation across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries on the island of Ireland and further afield. This mission is achieved through research, expertise, partnership and experience in a wide range of cross-border practices and concerns (for more details visit www.crossborder.ie).
The report is available here.
