Boring European Borders?! Integration and Mobility across Borders

This paper discusses the apparent stubbornness of immobility that exists in the European Union. It starts from the observation that the apparent abolishing of borders has not led to the supposed increase in crossborder interaction. Two concepts are introduced, indifference and unfamiliarity, this way trying to understand border effects, especially in Europe and the European Union. From this it is concluded that borders are much more than only technical barriers. Also prominent EU discourses in which debordering and homogenization will lead automatically to an increase in mobility and higher levels of interaction are challenged. It is concluded that it is important to make people to consider the “other” side of the border, including its differences and (un)familiarity, as a relevant precondition for interaction.