GeoRhena, the Upper Rhine geographic information system, has developed a simplified dynamic mapping tool that enables people to view and search for regularly updated data on developments in the Covid-19 epidemic in the Franco-German-Swiss trinational region.
The MOT has published on its website and on social media a series of maps showing the situation with respect to the easing of lockdown measures along France’s borders.
The territory of the Strasbourg Eurometropolis has an abundance of players and initiatives in the area of cross-border cooperation, for the most part designed and implemented with its German partners in Kehl and Ortenau. It also has several tools for dialogue and cross-border governance that enable it to foster and coordinate the daily contacts that make it one of the centres for cooperation in the Upper Rhine area.
The MP for Moselle, Christophe Arend, and his counterpart, Andreas Jung, have published a joint Franco-German declaration entitled "Together against coronavirus!", calling for Franco-German and European solidarity in this period of crisis.
Since 16 March, the Strasbourg Transport Company has no longer been authorised to serve Germany, and the tramway going from Strasbourg to Kehl stops at the border. Within a few days, following the spread of the coronavirus in Europe, control and restriction measures were put in place at the Grand Est borders, while population containment was implemented.
On 5 and 6 December 2019 in Bonn (Germany), the German Federal Institute for Research on Building Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) brought together the signatories of the "Memorandum for the creation of a European network for cross-border observation", representatives from Germany’s different borders (Statistics offices, local and regional authorities, ministries in charge of territorial cohesion, national bodies), as well as DG REGIO, the ESPON programme, and the MOT.
One year on from the signing of the Aachen Treaty, a Franco-German "Cross-Border Cooperation Committee" was officially established, in Hambach, on 22 January 2020, in the presence of the German Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michael Roth, and the French Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin. Its objective is "to overcome everyday border problems by means of concrete and reproducible solutions".
The MOT and Euro-Institut are carrying out a capitalisation study on behalf of the Grand Est region, funded by the Europ’Act technical assistance programme. Within this framework, three seminars have been held: in Strasbourg on 4 December, in Metz on 3 February, and in Charleville-Mézières on 10 February.
This guide is targeted at those involved in young people’s services across the Eurodistrict: social workers, teaching assistants, youth workers and coordinators, members of associations, administrative staff in the field of young people’s services, teachers, etc. It aims to guide these players in the development and implementation of cross-border projects.
The MAPTAM Act* enables border metropolises to draw up a Cross-Border Cooperation Strategy. Lille, Strasbourg and Nice have taken up this opportunity and have been working since 2018, with support from the MOT, on formulating a strategy to structure their cross-border policy. Other territories have followed suit such as the Basque Country Conurbation Community.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
On 22 September 2019, amateur and professional cyclists from either side of the Rhine set off to discover the territory of the Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict during a cross-border cycle ride.
Editorial by Tristan Atmania, Deputy Director of the Territorial Attractiveness and Competitiveness Department – Saint-Avold Conurbation: "In this crucial year for Europe, our territory of the Moselle, at the crossroads of the founding countries of the European Union, and also of the Saar-Lor-Lux Greater Region, is at a turning point in its history. In this respect, the cross-border cooperation that is already being forged in all areas of daily life represents a major asset to be developed in the context of the competition that we face with the other regions of the world. [...]"
Individual decisions carry important weight in a world brimming over with vitality. Decisions that affect many people and that, taken together, have an impact on certain regions’ demographic developments and economic strength. Such changes can only be managed if we are willing to evolve. The Saint-Avold Conurbation is rising to this challenge and is taking advantage of synergies to pool skills for the benefit of all.
Yann Dubois, Editions Alphil-Presses universitaires suisses, Collection "Espaces, mobilités et sociétés" No. 9, 613 pp, 2019 - in French.
In the context of the preparation of its 2021-2027 programmes, DG REGIO has drawn up 38 Border Orientation Papers (BOPs) for all of the EU’s land borders. Six of these BOPs relate to France’s borders.
In 2015, more than 360,000 inhabitants of border areas in France worked in a neighbouring country, near to the border. The economic dynamism of neighbouring countries such as Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco, together with the salaries offered, have encouraged working-age people living in France’s border areas to go and work there.
