General Assembly of the Transfrontier Euro-Institut Network (TEIN) and Conference entitled “Beyond Borders. Culture, Language, and Identity in European Integration”

Zsuzsanna Fejes, President of CESCI and leader of the LUPS-CESCI Research Group on Cross-Border Cooperation, together with Teodor Gyelník, Senior Researcher at CESCI, represented CESCI at the 2025 General Assembly of the Transfrontier Euro-Institut Network (TEIN). The General Assembly brought together representatives of TEIN member institutions in order to review recent activities, membership issues, future cooperation opportunities and to strengthen partnerships within the network.

During the General Assembly, Zsuzsanna Fejes presented a comprehensive report on the TEIN Conference “What Future for the Concept of Borderless Europe?” – International Conference on the Perspectives of Border Policies and Territorial Cooperation in an Age of Multiple Crises, which was held in May 2025 in Budapest. In her presentation, she summarized the most important messages and conclusions articulated by the conference participants, emphasizing the growing need for innovative approaches to cross-border governance and cooperation in light of the complex political, economic and environmental challenges Europe is currently facing.

She also highlighted that eight reviewed research articles, presented at the conference, are going to be published in the Volume 1 of the Journal of Advanced Studies on Borders, Cooperation and Development (ABCD). The volume aims to serve as an important platform for disseminating the results of the discussions and for further promoting the academic dialogue on border studies and territorial cooperation within the TEIN community and beyond.

Moreover, Teodor Gyelník delivered an introductory presentation on the BorderLabs CE project at the General Assembly. In his presentation, he outlined the project’s overall framework, main objectives, partnership structure and intervention logic. He provided an overview of key thematic areas, such as cross-border integrated spatial planning, cross-border participatory governance and management of cross-border legal and administrative obstacles. In addition, he discussed the project’s forthcoming activities that can strengthen cross-border governance in Central Europe.

Following the General Assembly, the TEIN Annual Conference 2025, entitled “Beyond Borders. Culture, Language, and Identity in European Integration” took place. Zsuzsanna Fejes delivered a presentation of the research at the conference on the impact of the amended Schengen Borders Code on cross-border cooperation at the Austrian and Hungarian border. The research of the topic was implemented within the frame of the project, ‘ITEM Cross-Border TIA 2025: the amended Schengen Borders Code. The Austrian-Hungarian case study.’