Following the conference "Cities and Metropolises in France and Germany" on March 14th, this report of the ARL (Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association) is available in French and in English. It includes a contribution by Jean Peyrony, Franziska Sielker and Thomas Perrin, entitled "Cross-border territorial cooperation between France and Germany: evolution, convergence and perspectives".
The MOT, supported by sixteen partners of its network, initiated a "cross-border living areas experiment" at the end of 2022.
At the beginning of 2023, the DG REGIO of the European Commission together with the OECD have launched a pilot project for multi-level governance and the development of co-developed cross-border strategies.
The representatives of the Hautes Vallées (High Valleys) territory (Maurienne, Grand Briançonnais, Pinerolese, Val di Susa e Sangone) met on March 28th at the Valfréjus mountain resort, just a few hundred metres from the French-Italian border.
How to live and move in the Greater Geneva of tomorrow? To answer this question, the Canton of Geneva, the Metropolitan Pole of the French Genevois and the Nyon Region are inviting residents to question the territorial development of the cross-border conurbation during eight citizen workshops to be held from April 24th to May 11th.
On March 9th, the MOT took part in the final seminar of the Integrated Territorial Plan (PITer) "Terres Monviso", which was held in Guillestre (Hautes-Alpes), near the French-Italian border.
Six years ago, the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) started the Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) initiative.
On March 24th, 2023, the Franco-German citizen portal "FRED.info" was put online. Developed in the framework of a partnership between the Land of Baden-Württemberg and the Grand Est Region, the tool is managed by the Franco-German Institute (DFI).
On February 15th, 2023, the General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD) organized a seminar in partnership with the MOT, "Border areas, between attractiveness and interdependence". Its objective: to answer questions about the role of mobility and how it is taken into account in public policies.
On March 2nd and 3rd, 2023, the CNFPT and the MOT organized two days of training in Strasbourg: "The cross-border DG: what strategy for the development of border territories?
With more than 200,000 border workers, the Grand Est region is a laboratory for European mobility. As a member of the MOT network, "Frontaliers Grand Est" accompanies these numerous border workers on a daily basis. Julien Dauer helps us better understand the challenges they face.
On Friday, March 17th, 2023 the 3rd meeting of the MOT working group "Cross-border ecological transition" was held on the theme of decarbonizing cross-border mobility. The exchanges were organized in two parts.
Following a mission of the Inspection générale de l'administration (IGA) carried out in 2022, during which many members of the MOT network were consulted, an important report entitled "Cross-border cooperation of local authorities" was published on February 16th 2023. Jean Peyrony, director general of the MOT, highlights the noteworthy recommendations.
On March 10th 2023, an agreement on assistance and rescue in border areas was signed in Metz between France and Belgium. The territory covers the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg in Belgium and the departments of Ardennes, Meuse and Meurthe et Moselle in France, which together share around 250 km of borders.
On March 8th, 2023, the French Minister of Labor, Full Employment and Integration, Olivier Dussopt, presented to the Council of Ministers the draft law establishing a legal framework for cross-border apprenticeships.
Around thirty Belgian and French elected representatives met in Mons (Belgium) on February 17th to share their expectations and priorities in order to establish a cooperation strategy for the cross-border Sambre-Avesnois, with the support of the MOT.
"By studying the past, history allows the present to build bridges to the future", this is the motto under which the Franco-German Citizen Fund has just launched a call for projects entitled "Journey through time".
In order to promote and disseminate its expertise, the MOT regularly contributes articles to scientific journals or external monographs. From territorial and European cohesion, governance, and bilateral treaties, to legal issues and the analysis of the impact of border closures, the subjects covered are numerous and diverse.
Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, President of the Corsican Assembly and member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), answers our questions following the publication of her report to the CoR on regions with "geographic and demographic handicaps". What about border areas?
Following the model of the IBA that has been set up in Basel, a laboratory workshop has been commissioned by the Saarland to study the feasibility of an "Internationale Bau Austellung" (International Architecture and Urban Planning Exhibition) in the Greater Region.
Join the new public consultation for the new Thematic Action Plans launched by the ESPON Programme.
In the framework of the "b-solutions initiative", AEBR is collecting cases of cross-border obstacles.
The Scarpe-Escaut European Nature Park, located on the French-Belgian border, has obtained the "Transboundary Park" label from the European Federation of Nature Parks, Europarc.
The first MOT general assembly of 2023 was held virtually on February 7th, with more than 80 participants online, including many elected representatives from all over France. The validation of the budget and the 2023 work programme, the presentation of the new members since the last General Assembly (the Community of Municipalities of Guillestrois Queyras, and the Department of Meuse) and a debate with David Djaïz, General Rapporteur of the National Council for Refoundation, were all on the agenda.
At the end of 2022, the Commission published its report "Cross-border public services: CPS inventory analysis and policy recommendations".
