In many ways, continental Europe is increasingly an area without borders (viz the euro single currency, cheaper cross-border mobile phone calls, the enlarged passport-free travel zone).

But not everything works seamlessly.

I thought about this because of a fascinating story (warning - this is quite a large PDF file, but it has great pics) in the Bulletin, an English-language magazine in Brussels, on the subject of joined towns on the Belgo-Dutch border.

The story on Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau highlights the quirks of residents’ lives as they constantly flit across two countries.

It details how the frontier runs through houses, shops and restaurants. People also have to grapple with varying tax systems, closing times and speed limits.

Apparently, women are able to choose the nationality of their child depending on the location of the room in which they give birth.

The story highlights this sad case: a body was discovered in a house on the border. Police from both sides had to cooperate to be certain that they didn’t encroach on the other’s territory, leading to evidence becoming invalid.

If you want to know more about the towns’ unusual situation, read this lively story, written in 2004 when the EU undertook its “big bang” enlargement.

March 10, 2008 6:48pm in Brussels | Comment