Euroregions as political actors: managing border policies in the time of Covid-19 in Polish borderlands

Abstract

The article examines the role of the Euroregions in the first Covid-19 pandemic wave in Europe. The beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 led to the closures of state borders. This complicated the situation of Polish cross-border commuters working in Germany and the Czech Republic. The border closure also showed the strength of Euroregions, able to react and transmit the demands of borderlanders to the Polish government. To analyse this question, we adapt the deliberative system theory. The actions taken by Euroregions, as institutions of public space, were considered as deliberative consequences of non-deliberative actions of government.