Can They Pass the Tear Test? Cross-border Living-spaces in the Weimar Triangle in Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic

With the European integration process, local and regional ties have developed over time in border regions like the Greater Region with its core SaarLorLux and the Brandenburg-Lubuskie border region. They were suddenly interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, when nation states reintroduced border restrictions. The pandemic revealed new questions, challenges inherent to cross-border cooperation, but also opportunities for greater cohesion. In our article, we outline the role of actors and structures at the regional, local, and individual level for cross-border relations in the border regions within the Weimar Triangle mentioned above. According to qualitative interviews with political and administrative stakeholders, territorial cohesion manifested itself in many forms and contributed significantly to the resilience of cross-border ties. Precisely at the individual, local, and regional level, the challenges of the pandemic were handled and counteracted with large commitment from various stakeholders.