The Crossborder Forum

For several decades, there has been a lack in civil society dialogue and concerted action around migration and asylum matters relating to the UK-France-Belgium border, whilst governments have been actively engaging in cross-border talks and bilateral agreements for a long time. Post-Brexit, the need for a good understanding of political dynamics and policy changes in the respective countries, as well as coordinated action, has further increased.

The Crossborder Forum is a collective of approximately thirty organisations from the UK, France and Belgium working on migration issues at the shared borders of the three countries. The Forum aims to: 1) provide a space for civil society organisations concerned with the UK-France-Belgium border, for exchanging information and expertise of ongoing cross-border migration and asylum issues; 2) construct a shared analysis of cross-border policies and their impact, building on work already done by actors in the respective countries; 3) facilitate cross-border collaboration on advocacy and policy work relating to bilateral issues between UK-France and UK-Belgium, and reinforce existing projects by combining forces.