Spotlight on Borders: Insights from the Austrian-German border

Reports & Briefings
Clare de Mowbray

Key points:

  • The borders between two EU member states sharing a currency and language can be thin due to EU integration and transnational interdependence.
  • Differences in size of the countries matters for flows of trade and populations across the border.
  • Bilateral cross-border agreements between Austria and Germany or between Austria and Bavaria have been supplanted by EU regulations, e.g. regarding work permits and the mobility of persons.
  • EU regulations regarding the coordination of social security systems reduce barriers to crossborder mobility and ensure the transferability of entitlements.
Spotlight on borders-Germany-Austria.pdf (80.19 KB, application/pdf)