Organised by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, this year’s TEIN annual conference took place online on 13 November 2020. Focusing on the Pyrenean cross-border region, it gave participants from across Europe the opportunity to apprehend the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on society, politics, demographics and the economy in this region on the border between France, Spain and Andorra.

We would like to thank our speakers for their great presentations and discussions! Prof. Dr. Andreu Domingo Valls, Member of IEC and Deputy Director of the Centre for demographic Studies at the Autonomos University of Barcelona, gave an interesting insight on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on mortality, fertility rates and immigration in Catalonia. Xavier Bernard Sans, Director of the EGCT Euroregion Pyrenees-Mediterranean, presented the Euroregional Covid Fund, which was set up to support cross-border projects at the French-Spanish-Andorran border tackling the negative effects of the sanitary crisis on tourism, culture and university cooperation for example. Finally, Maria Ubach i Font, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andorra, with an overview of the measures taken to deal with the corona situation in Andorra.

In conclusion, the discussions between the speakers and with the audience made it clear that cross-border cooperation is essential to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here you can review the Programme of the conference.