Cross-border Co-operation

To address the cross-border co-operation issues arising with the EU enlargement eastwards and to promote dialogue on asylum and irregular migration issues among the countries situated along the EU eastern border, a pro-active initiative 'The Soderkoping process' was launched in early 2001. The process encompasses Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine, and is supported by the European Commission (EC), the Swedish Migration Board, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Organization for Migration.

The Cross-Border Co-operation/Soderkoping Process (CBCP) Secretariat was established in May 2003 by the EC project to act as a service and co-ordination centre on behalf of countries and organisations participating in the Soderkoping process.

The enlargement of the European Union’s (EU) eastwards had called for partnership and enhanced cross-border co-operation between the Western Newly Independent States (NIS) and the EU. In early 2001, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Swedish Migration Board (SMB) jointly launched a pro-active initiative to promote dialogue on asylum and irregular migration issues among the countries situated along the future EU eastern border. The initiative was named ‘The Söderköping process’ after the town of Söderköping in Sweden where the first meeting took place. Senior migration and border management officials from Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, as well as representatives from the Swedish Government, UNHCR, the European Commission (EC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) participated.

The strategic objective of the Söderköping process is to facilitate cross-border co-operation between new EU Member States, candidate countries and the Western NIS on asylum, migration and border management issues.

Since 2001, the Söderköping process has grown to include now ten countries situated along the enlarged EU border: Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The process is supported by the EC, IOM, the SMB and UNHCR.