After a workshop on EGTCs and territorial cooperation in association with the EGTC Platform of the Committee of the Regions on 12th November 2015 in Brussels, a conference was held the following day on “The Future of Cross-Border Cooperation in Europe”. It was jointly organised by the AEBR, DG REGIO, the Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
The topic of the conference was: “Territorial Reforms: what impact for cross-border cooperation?”
The DG for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission has produced seven two-minute films on the benefits of the free movement of people and goods, in English, French and German. These films touch on tangible cross-border topics such as employment, education, health, commerce, border controls, etc.
The Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (Museum of Immigration History) in Paris is curating an exhibition focusing on borders, from 10th November 2015 to 29th May 2016. From works of art to maps, contemporary photographs and migrants’ own accounts, this unique exhibition sheds light on the role of borders around the world and contemporary issues surrounding them.
On 18th November, members of the MOT network gathered at the CGET (General Commission for Territorial Equality) in Saint-Denis, for a meeting of the Technicians’ Platform and the Advisory Committee of the MOT.The Technicians’ Platform looked at plans to put in place during 2016 an online forum for exchanges between members of the network.
The study proposes a critical analysis of EGTCs and emphasises the primordial role of this legal instrument in the development of cross-border cooperation in Europe.
"More than 150,000 French citizens cross the border every day to go to work in Switzerland, attracted by higher salaries in all sectors. Many believe they will find an Eldorado there. Reality is not always as one imagines…"
The removal of roaming charges for mobile phones in Europe is definitively set for 15th June 2017, following the passing of legislation by the European Parliament on 27th October 2015.
A European Seminar on democratic governance of cross-border areas was held on 22 and 23 October 2015 in Saint-Louis (France). The seminar was organised by the Council of Europe with the collaboration of the City of Saint-Louis, the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel, the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière and the Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia (Italy).
The seminar organised by the Council of Europe was an opportunity to examine cross-border cooperation activity organised around the work of the Basel Trinational Eurodistrict (ETB), the international architecture exhibition IBA Basel 2020 and the Basel Agglomeration programme.
Taking note of the “de Ruyter” decision of the CJEU, “the [French] Government specifies in a communiqué published on 20th October the conditions for the introduction of recovery procedures relating to refunds of social contributions made on capital gains by residents and non-residents who are covered by social security schemes of other Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland.”
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its creation, the Europe Direct network is highlighting the role of its information centres (500 throughout Europe, of which 54 are spread across France), in informing citizens of European activities, and also representing a local asset for events in the area.
The MOT, in partnership with the UNCDF, organised a workshop on 14 October at the 2015 session of the OPEN DAYS in Brussels. This brought together over 250 people to address the topic "Cross-border co-operation and regional integration, a worldwide approach".
On 21 October, Anne Sander, MEP and Vice-President of the MOT, chaired the second meeting of the European Parliament working group on cross-border cooperation on the subject of cross-border healthcare.
This opinion, drafted by Nikola Dobroslavić (HR/EPP) has been approved by the plenary of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 13 October. The opinion highlights the importance of cross-border cooperation for regional urban and rural development, and welcomes the initiative of Luxembourg's Presidency of the European Union's Council of Ministers to enhance the cross-border regulatory framework with new tools.
Eurobarometer surveys are analyses of public opinion by the European Commission. For the first time, a Eurobarometer survey identifies and analyses the attitudes of citizens living in border regions.
The European Commission has just published a report on Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI), a European structural funds tool that enables the implementation of integrated territorial strategies.
On 21 September, the players from the Greater Geneva area presented an innovative new tool that makes it possible to monitor air pollution across the cross-border territory: the G²AME (Grand Genève Air Modèle Emissions – Greater Geneva Air Emissions Model) platform.
An agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium concerning cross-border cooperation in the area of policing and customs has been in force since 1 October 2015 in France.
The Kiosk Office, the first cross-border co-working space, was set up in Offenburg in July 2014 and in Strasbourg in early 2015. This meeting place for entrepreneurs from either side of the border fulfils a real need observed in the territory (administrative and legal advice, networking, etc.). Since it was established, 600 people have visited it and two French-German businesses have been set up.
The final conference of the project embarked on by the MOT in 2014 on cross-border economic development brought together nearly 180 people in Paris on 30 September.
On 24-25 September 2015, the University of Pau and the Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) welcomed twelve cross-border groupings of European universities at a seminar organised within the framework of the EBRoS 2020 project (a French-Spanish inter-university project funded by the Interreg programme POCTEFA).
Since January 2014, the MOT has been carrying out a project supported by the national technical assistance programme Europ'Act relating to the economic development of the cross-border territories along France's borders. The results of this work will be presented at the project's final conference on 30 September in Paris.
On the occasion of the European Cooperation Day and a week after the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Interreg, the umbrella framework for Regional Policy's cross border cooperation programmes, the Commission has launched an EU-wide public consultation on the remaining obstacles to cross border cooperation.
