Of barriers, breaches and bridges Cross-border ecotourism and the prospect of horizontal governance acting as a bridge in Belarus-EU Neighbourhood relations

• Published in: The EU's Eastern Neighbourhood pp. 115 - 133
• Main Author: Marin, Anaïs
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2016
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Cbc Project; Young Man; EU Neighbour; EU's Security Interest; EU's Eastern Neighbourhood; EU's External Border; cross-border cooperation; EU Russia Relation; EU Border; Civil Society; Polish Belarusian Border; EaP; EU Migration Policy; Latgale vocational culinary school; EU's Neighbourhood Policy; Belarusian Leadership; LBT; EU's Eastern; EU's Eastern Enlargement; Eastern Partnership; Euroregional project; Belovezhskaya Pushcha; EU Ukraine Relation; cultural heritage; environmental protection; Lukashenko's Regime; EU's Eastern Border; Transboundary Ecosystems; Belarusian regime; charity organisations
• ISBN: 9780415722865; 1138477699; 9781138477698; 0415722861
• DOI: 10.4324/9781315858036-10

This chapter provides an overview of the historical, domestic and external obstacles, or barriers, to cross-border cooperation (CBC) with the EU. Building on the empirical findings of field research conducted in Euroregion Neman in 2010. It evaluates Trans border-breaking potential in a field of cooperation which is a traditional driver of confidence-building initiatives across EU borders: environmental protection. In order to maintain contacts with Western donors, many pro-European civil society activists retract behind youth, education and charity organisations. The Belarusian regime remains a reluctant partner in most of the EU's regional integration initiatives, notably the Eastern Partnership (EaP), a cooperation platform established by the EU in May 2009 as a means to draw its several eastern neighbours closer. The inhabitants of micro-Euroregions seem, however, to identify more closely with the Euroregional project in cases where CBC programmes positively affect the life of borderlanders in such fields as public health, education, cultural and school exchanges and sports competitions. This chapter provides an overview of the present state of labour migration in the Russian Federation by focusing on the socio-demographic characteristics of migrants, their regional distribution and the role of undocumented, or illegal, migrants. The Concept of Regulation of Migration Processes in the Russian Federation, a governmental decree from March 2003, was frequently criticised for insufficiently responding to the country's needs, as well as being too restrictive and not doing enough for the integration of immigrants. Labour migration accounts for the largest share in the Russian Federation's migratory flows and also receives most attention in the media and political discussions. The 1990s mainly saw ethnic Russians from the former Transcaucasian Republics and Central Asia returning to Russia, whereas in recent years the majority of immigrants applying for permanent residence are from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.