Abstract
The Czech–Polish border is almost 800 kilometres long. Since 1991, 6 Euroregions and two European Groupings of Territorial Co-operation (EGTC) were created and have been conducting cross-border cooperation (CBC) along the entire length of the border. This was probably also the institutionalisation of cross-border co-operation, what has helped to reach and maintain a high level of mutual Czech–Polish relations. What can therefore be considered striking or surprising is a rather low level of cross-border labor mobility between the labor forces of both countries. Authors therefore attempted to identify projects and initiatives in the field of the cross-border labor market along the entire border. Research showed that the CBC stakeholders don’t prioritise co-operation in the field of the labor market, as they don’t see any real cross-border demand. There are some exceptions, driven mainly by the automotive and mining industries in Czechia attracting a Polish workforce. The main reason for the relatively low level of Czech–Polish cross-border co-operation in the field of the labor market is an absence of a major economic engine on either side of the border, rather than any kind of hostile or re-bordering sentiments in mutual relations between subjects from both countries.
Highlights
The existence of different administrative systems creates barriers to the balanced development of different European regions in the whole European Union (EU) [1,2,3,4]
Poland and Czechia, as EU future member countries, obtained a chance to participate in the second generation of INTERREG programmes in the 1994–2000 programming period, with financial assistance coming from PHARE cross-border cooperation (CBC) programmes
Analysing the Microproject Fund for 2007–2013 and part of 2014–2020 programming period, we found only five microprojects focused on organizing cross-border labor market brokerage events and microprojects which helped support co-operation and partnership meetings of entrepreneurs from both sides of the border
Summary
The existence of different administrative systems creates barriers to the balanced development of different European regions in the whole EU [1,2,3,4]. The recent study conducted at the Polish–Czech border area indicates that development of cross-border cooperation in the economic sphere is lagging far behind other co-operation activities such as culture, nature protection, education and tourism [14] We are approaching this topic knowing that both Czechs and Poles cross the border to work mainly in Germany, as the pay gap between Germany on one side and Poland and Czechia on either side of the border is still significant and creates an important pull factor. The existence of a specialized body responsible for cross-border co-operation management is extremely important in making co-operation happen The contribution of these bodies towards cross-border co-operation with a focus on the labor market will be assessed. We will assess in this paper how Czech–Polish Euroregions and other CBC stakeholders create conditions for efficient cross-border co-operation in the labor market field
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