Delegation of Uzhhorod University presented Ukrainian experience of cross-border cooperation at a conference in Belgium
On 6–7 October 2026, a delegation of Uzhhorod University took part in the international conference “Governing the Border: Norms, Rules, Cross-Border and Transnational Practices; From Citizen to Institution”, held in the city of Mons in Belgium. University representatives joined the discussion of border management, protection of the rights of displaced persons and cross-border cooperation in conditions of war.
The annual conference of the TEIN network — Transfrontier Euro-Institut Network — was organised by the Catholic University of Leuven, the Institute for Border Research and the network with the support of the research initiative “Borders in Globalisation” of the University of Victoria. The event brought together researchers and practitioners who study border regions and mechanisms of cooperation between them.
The university was represented by the Vice-Rector for Research and Pedagogical Work, Doctor of Political Science, Professor Myroslava Oleksandrivna Lendiel. The delegation from the Faculty of Law included the Deputy Dean for Research, Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative, Financial and Information Law, Doctor of Philosophy in Law Vadym Ivanovych Pishta; Assistant of the same department Polina Volodymyrivna Malesh; Director of the Research Institute of Fundamental and Applied Studies of European Territorial Cooperation, Associate Professor of the Department of International Law, Doctor of Philosophy in Law Yuliia Ivanivna Fedko; Professor of the Department of Civil Law and Procedure, Doctor of Legal Sciences Mariia Vasylivna Mendzhul.
On 6 October, Polina Malesh and Vadym Pishta presented a joint paper “The Temporary Protection Directive and the Right to Freedom of Movement: The Ukrainian Case as a Test for the EU Border Management System”. The presentation was part of a section devoted to border crossing control and the transfer of certain migration control mechanisms beyond the European Union. At the centre of the Ukrainian study is the relationship between temporary protection and the right to freedom of movement, which has acquired particular relevance as a result of the forced displacement of Ukrainians because of the war.
On 7 October, Myroslava Lendiel delivered a paper “Governing Cross-Border Cooperation in Conditions of War: The Example of the Western Regions of Ukraine — Zakarpattia”. It was presented in a section on institutionalisation, mediation and instruments of border management. The paper contributed the experience of the Ukrainian border region to the international discussion of how war changes the conditions of cross-border interaction.
The conference programme covered multilevel governance of border cities, internal border control in the Schengen area, cross-border counteraction to crime, issues of identity and the methodology of border research. Individual papers concerned cooperation in responding to natural disasters, spatial planning and legal regulation of cross-border relations. At the plenary sessions, participants discussed citizenship, territorial identity and ways of overcoming obstacles to cooperation.
The delegation’s participation made it possible to present Ukrainian research in the international academic environment and to consider the experience of Zakarpattia and the legal challenges of forced migration alongside the practices of other border regions. For Uzhhorod University, these issues are directly connected with its location on the border with the European Union and with research on European territorial cooperation.
Anastasiia Lendiel
Information and Publishing Centre
