"Reconciling citizens with Europe" is the message we will take from Interreg's 25th anniversary, which was celebrated on 15-16 September at a major European conference organised at the emblematic location of Esch-Belval by the Luxembourg presidency, the European Commission and the Interact programme.
Interreg is 25 years old! A good opportunity to celebrate the unquestionable achievements of cross-border cooperation, but above all, to look to the future.
In the context of the 25th anniversary of the launch of Interreg, this month the European Commission is publishing a book entitled "Territorial cooperation in Europe, a historical perspective".
Meeting in Luxembourg on 2 September 2015, the members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) called on the EU to step-up its efforts to strengthen cross-border cooperation. The discussions took place within the framework of the work currently being carried out under Luxembourg's presidency.
A web platform to promote car-pooling in the Greater Geneva region went live on 1 September.
On 6 September, this cross-border cycling festival that has been held every year in the SaarMoselle Eurodistrict celebrated 15 years of existence with the slogan "70 years of peace and friendship".
On 30 June 2015 at the University of Silesia the inaugural international conference of the Polish-Czech-Slovak Euro-Institut was held, organised by the Association for Development and Regional Cooperation "Olza" (representing the Polish side of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion) and the Institut EuroSchola in Trinec (Czech Republic).
On the occasion of the conference on 15-16 September in Luxembourg, an edition of the television programme "Le Dessous des Cartes" was devoted to European territorial cooperation.
The New Territorial Organisation of the Republic Act (the "NOTRe Act") was promulgated on 7 August 2015 in France.
At the instigation of the partners in the Spain-France-Andorra cooperation programme (POCTEFA) a study has been carried out on Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) and Community-led Local Development (CLLD).
Today the Commission officially launched the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP), the fourth EU macro-regional strategy. More than70 million citizens will reap the benefits of a closer cooperation between regions and countries in terms of research and innovation, SME support, mobility, tourism, environmental protection and energy resources management.
The BRIT 2016 Conference will be held in Hamburg (Germany) and in Sønderborg (Denmark), on 17-20 May 2016. The deadline for the call for papers is November 1, 2015.
After more than five years of work, the MOT is inaugurating its online documentation portal - available in French - and opening up its documentation centre to specialist users.
Did you submit a slogan for the slogan contest? Or would you like to vote for your favourite slogan and make sure the best and most original one wins?
A French-German ministerial conference, attended by French secretary of state for European affairs Harlem Désir and his German counterpart Michael Roth, both general-secretaries for French-German cooperation, took place on 6 and 7 July in Metz.
More than 150 people, elected officials and stakeholders in cross-border territories, national and European representatives met in Chamonix on 17-18 June on the occasion of the MOT General Assembly to debate on the impact of territorial reforms on cross-border cooperation.
The current territorial reform in France is going to reinforce the role of regional and local players who are better placed to take action at territorial level. France is converging with most of its neighbours, which should facilitate cross-border cooperation.
On 18 June, following the conference-debate, MOT annual bodies were the occasion of important votes for the association. New statutes, after several months working with members, were adopted.
As part of the programme of the Luxembourg presidency of the EU Council, a workshop on the potential of small and medium-sized towns in polycentric cross-border metropolitan regions took place in Luxembourg City on 30 June.
"The end of roaming – additional charges for telephone calls made and messages sent from abroad – is anticipated with impatience by all border residents,” declared Anne Sander, MEP and MOT vice-president, on the occasion of the launch meeting of a new parliamentary working group on border questions on 24 June at the European Parliament.
Ambitieux projet porté par Le Pays Horloger (France) et le Parc naturel régional du Doubs (Suisse), les Chemins de la Contrebande franco-suisse proposent quatre itinéraires pédestres et VTT entre la France et la Suisse, alternative originale aux randonnées classiques, avec une quête ludique et l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies, qui pimentent les parcours entre France et Suisse et ouvrent un vaste champ de découvertes à partager.
The European Commission adopted on 11th June 2015 the new interregional cooperation programme ("Interreg Europe") between all EU Member States with the participation of Norway and Switzerland, worth more than EUR 359 million.
The report "Qualité de vie, habitants, territoires" (quality of life, inhabitants, territories), delivered to the French Minister of Housing, Territorial Equality and Rural Affairs on 11 May 2015, is available for downloading from the Observatoire des Territoires website [in French].
The KiosK Office, a unique French-German co-production, was inaugurated on 10 June 2015 in Strasbourg in the presence of Harlem Désir, French secretary of state for European affairs.
For the first time, on 29 May 2015, the French Embassy in Madrid brought together local elected representatives and state representatives of the border territories between France and Spain, as well as the leaders of the Aquitaine-Euskadi and Pyrénées-Méditerranée Euroregions, to enable in-depth discussions on all cross-border cooperation between the two countries.
