News

  • TERRITORIES

    The Léman Express – "a real transport revolution"

    January 2020

    The launch of the Léman Express on 15 December 2019 is “a real transport revolution”, according to Greater Geneva’s elected representatives. Made possible by a new 16km central section of track between Cornavin, Eaux-Vives and Annemasse (CEVA), what is now the largest cross-border regional rail network in Europe links up two Swiss cantons and two French departments. It has taken eight years and €1.8 billion worth of investment to complete.

  • Meeting of the MOT network: an ambitious programme for 2020

    MOT

    Meeting of the MOT network: an ambitious programme for 2020

    January 2020

    The MOT network met on 12 December 2019 in Paris in the offices of the Caisse des Dépôts, around the meetings of the Board and the Steering Committee. The discussions were an opportunity to report on the findings of the questionnaire on "Communicating the needs of the MOT network to the national level", and to launch an ambitious work programme for the coming year, with a number of key projects.

  • Meetings of players involved in Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation: the Sud Region mobilises

    MOT

    Meetings of players involved in Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation: the Sud Region mobilises

    January 2020

    In order to make a preliminary assessment of past Interreg programmes and to plan for the future, the Sud Region (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) organised, in partnership with the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Hautes-Alpes and Var Departments, a series of three meetings with ALCOTRA and MARITTIMO project developers.

  • Annual summary of the Greater Geneva Cross-Border Statistical Observatory

    TERRITORIES

    Annual summary of the Greater Geneva Cross-Border Statistical Observatory

    January 2020

    The Greater Geneva Cross-Border Statistical Observatory has just published its 2019 summary: “The Geneva cross-border area continues to see demographic and economic growth: demographic growth is strong in the Geneva cross-border area (1.6% annually between 2011 and 2016), and is significantly higher than both the Swiss and French averages (1.1% and 0.4% respectively). This large territory […] is now home to more than a million people.”

  • TERRITORIES

    The low-carbon transition takes shape in Europe’s straits

    January 2020

    On 22 November 2019, the Pas-de-Calais Department hosted the closing conference of the PASSAGE project in Arras. The MOT took part in it.

  • Historical atlas "Aller et venir, transports et mobilité dans le Pays de Genève"

    PUBLICATION

    Historical atlas "Aller et venir, transports et mobilité dans le Pays de Genève"

    January 2020

    Claude Barbier, Pierre-François Schwarz, published by La Salévienne, 2019. (Translation of the title: "Coming and Going – Transport and Mobility in the Geneva Area")

  • Revitalisation of inner cities in the Greater Region

    MOT

    Revitalisation of inner cities in the Greater Region

    January 2020

    On 21 November 2019 the UniGR – Center for Border Studies held in Esch-sur-Alzette, in Luxembourg, its fourth Greater Region Forum, on the topic "Revitalisation of inner cities in the Greater Region". In the light of the pressure on the retail sector in the Greater Region, as well as in other cross-border regions, the discussions focused on the organisation of retailers in the face of this competition, on consumer behaviour and on possible avenues for co-development.

  • NATIONAL LEVEL

    Authority of Alsace and cross-border cooperation: what does the Act say?

    November 2019

    The Act (No. 2019-816) of 2 August 2019 concerning the competences of the European Territorial Authority of Alsace (CEA) ratified the creation of this new territorial authority arising from the merger of the French Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin Departments on 1 January 2021.

  • A 2030 strategy for the Upper Rhine Trinational Metropolitan Region

    TERRITORIES

    A 2030 strategy for the Upper Rhine Trinational Metropolitan Region

    November 2019

    The 2030 strategy for the Upper Rhine Trinational Metropolitan Region was signed in Basel on 22 November. “We want to be a model region for Europe and to make visible and tangible the benefits that Europe provides day by day. To do this, we will continue to develop excellence in the economic and scientific field, to strengthen structures of cross-border cooperation and to develop new potential,” the political representatives affirmed on this occasion.

  • The MOT holds its first webinar, on the topic of cross-border public services

    MOT

    The MOT holds its first webinar, on the topic of cross-border public services

    November 2019

    Around 30 people took part in the first webinar organised by the MOT in partnership with the ESPON programme, on 21 November 2019, on the topic: "Potentials of Cross-border Public Services for French and Neighbouring Border Regions".

  • Network day in Lille on cross-border mobility

    MOT

    Network day in Lille on cross-border mobility

    November 2019

    At the invitation of the MOT, the CNFPT (National Centre for Territorial Public Administration) and the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis, 40 people gathered on 13 November in Lille to talk about cross-border transportation. The three sessions focused on: the need for the observation of flows and the reasons for travelling (work, shopping, leisure, healthcare); the challenges encountered in drawing up cross-border mobility strategies; and the breaking-down of the strategies into territorial projects.

  • NATIONAL LEVEL

    Meeting of the National Mountain Council on cross-border issues

    November 2019

    The National Mountain Council is a consultative body, established by the Montagne Act, that has a proposal-making role with respect to setting goals for the development, spatial planning and protection of mountain ranges. It is made up of parliamentarians and representatives from the regions and departments of the six mountain ranges in metropolitan France (the Alps, Corsica, the Jura, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees and the Vosges) and the three overseas mountain ranges, social professionals and representatives from the voluntary sector. The General Commission for Territorial Equality provides its general secretariat.

  • France-United Kingdom: for strengthened cooperation between local authorities

    TERRITORIES

    France-United Kingdom: for strengthened cooperation between local authorities

    November 2019

    The successful bids for the call for projects “France-United Kingdom: for a strengthened cooperation between our local authorities” launched by the British Embassy in France, with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been announced.

  • A cross-border waste water treatment plant between Belgium and Luxembourg

    TERRITORIES

    A cross-border waste water treatment plant between Belgium and Luxembourg

    November 2019

    On 30 October 2019, the construction site of a new cross-border waste water treatment plant was presented to the public – a large-scale project on the border between Belgium and Luxembourg.

  • A Council of Europe resolution on the distribution of taxes in cross-border areas

    EUROPE

    A Council of Europe resolution on the distribution of taxes in cross-border areas

    November 2019

    On 29 October, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution entitled “Fair distribution of taxes in transfrontier areas”. In the report presented by Karl-Heinz Lambertz, the Congress calls for greater cooperation between the countries concerned on this issue.

  • Territorial diplomacy and cross-border cooperation: the case of France’s border

    PUBLICATION

    Territorial diplomacy and cross-border cooperation: the case of France’s border

    November 2019

    "The study of developments since the 1980s raises questions about the role and place of territorial authorities in an international system involving diverse players, and prompts a rethinking, by means of infra-State players, of the historical roles of diplomacy: representing and negotiating." The article ["Diplomatie territoriale et coopération transfrontalière : Le cas des frontières françaises"] analyses this diplomacy in the cross-border context along France’s borders."

  • The Nord Department celebrates 30 years of cross-border cooperation

    TERRITORIES

    The Nord Department celebrates 30 years of cross-border cooperation

    November 2019

    On Monday, 21 October 2019 at the Stablinski Velodrome in Roubaix, the Nord Department, West Flanders Province and Hainaut Province celebrated 30 years of cross-border cooperation.

  • EUROPE

    Sign the joint declaration on healthcare in cross-border regions!

    November 2019

    The network of European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA) and the Healthacross initiative have published a joint declaration aimed at promoting cross-border cooperation in the area of healthcare, and at putting forward political recommendations.

  • Assessing the territorial impact of cross-border cooperation

    EUROPE

    Assessing the territorial impact of cross-border cooperation

    November 2019

    The ESPON programme has published its new report about Territorial Impact Assessment for Cross-Border Cooperation – TIA CBC.

  • Signature in Toulouse of a Franco-German declaration

    NATIONAL LEVEL

    Signature in Toulouse of a Franco-German declaration

    October 2019

    The 21st Franco-German Council of Ministers took place in Toulouse on 16 October 2019, bringing together France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, as well as the French and German ministers. On this occasion, and following on from the Aachen Treaty, the “Franco-German Declaration of Toulouse” was signed, which reaffirms the commitments made at the highest level of government with respect to Franco-German cooperation.

  • Energy, citizenship, the ECBM, observation: major topics at the heart of the workshops attended by the MOT

    EUROPE

    Energy, citizenship, the ECBM, observation: major topics at the heart of the workshops attended by the MOT

    October 2019

    At the 2019 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities, which brought together over 9,000 participants in Brussels, the MOT ran a workshop entitled "No country is an island: joint cross-border strategies for a clean energy transition".

  • Study for the EIB - Identifying cross-border investment projects in Europe

    MOT

    Study for the EIB - Identifying cross-border investment projects in Europe

    October 2019

    Between November 2018 and July 2019, the MOT and CESCI (the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives) collaborated on producing a study for the European Investment Bank and its European Investment Advisory Hub.

  • "A multidimensional measurement of the integration between European border regions"

    PUBLICATION

    "A multidimensional measurement of the integration between European border regions"

    October 2019

    Cross-border integration in Europe is a complex and multifaceted process that has contrasting impacts on border regions. In this article, the authors provide, with the aid of statistical indicators, an analysis of cross-border integration along the EU’s internal borders, highlighting the similarities and discrepancies that can be observed between different territories.

  • Congress of Local Public Enterprises in Strasbourg

    MOT

    Congress of Local Public Enterprises in Strasbourg

    October 2019

    On 9 October 2019, the Federation of Local Public Enterprises (EPL) held its annual congress in Strasbourg, bringing together EPL from all over France.

  • Towards coordination on obstacles at the European level?

    EUROPE

    Towards coordination on obstacles at the European level?

    October

    With the support of the International Visegrad Fund, CESCI, the Hungarian equivalent of the MOT, and its partners along the borders between Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have put forward proposals concerning the ECBM and the resolution of cross-border obstacles between these four countries. They suggest the creation of a European network of national contact points that could either be set up at national level or be pooled by several countries, as happens in the Nordic Council.