Lack of accessibility by public transport remains a major obstacle to opening up isolated European border regions. It is on the basis of this observation that the European Commission launched in 2020 a comprehensive study to identify all existing services on European borders.
This autumn, and for the second consecutive year, the MOT organised nine “territorial meetings”, so as to keep in close contact with the members of its network, and involve them in preparing its annual programme. Held successively in Besançon, Strasbourg, Lille, Annemasse, Charleville-Mézières, Nice, Urrugne, Perpignan and Metz, both virtually and in person, the meetings brought together close to 200 participants in total.
Together with its partners*, the MOT is currently working on behalf of the European Commission to produce the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) devoted to European Territorial Cooperation (ETC).
Initiated by Anne Sander MEP, the European Parliament's pilot project "Cross-Border Crisis Response Integrated Initiative" (CBCRII) has just been approved. It can now be implemented by DG REGIO.
On the eve of France’s presidency of the EU, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, have signed in Rome a bilateral cooperation treaty, the “Quirinal Treaty”. Sixty years after the signature of the Franco-German Élysée Treaty, this “friendship pact” is historical and marks the desire, at the highest level of state, to advance Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation.
Continuing a collaboration going back 30 years, the territories located south of Monte Viso (3,841 metres), the iconic mountain in the Southern Alps, are structuring their cooperation within the framework of an integrated territorial plan supported by the ALCOTRA programme, known as “Terres Monviso”.
On 5 November 2021, the MOT team had the pleasure of hosting the partners of the integrated territorial plan known as GraiesLab – Active And Innovative Rural Generations – in their offices for a work meeting.
On 19 November, the French President Emmanuel Macron came to the Avesnois and the Thiérache to sign a second-generation contract between the French state and the territory.
Launched in 2017 for a five-year period, the project “Civil Society in the Upper Rhine” presented its final assessment at the closing day held by the PAMINA Eurodistrict EGTC on 9 November 2021 in Lauterbourg. Funded within the framework of the Interreg VA Upper Rhine programme, it aimed to “involve civil society players more in the joint construction of cross-border daily life”.
Starting from this November, every Monday the MOT is publishing on social media a map illustrating the reality of flows and cooperation in cross-border living areas.
On 18 November, the PAMINA Eurodistrict, in partnership with the MOT, held a seminar on the circular economy in the cross-border setting.
Following on from the MOT’s workshop “Breathing without borders” held on 13 October during the EURegionsWeek, the MOT has published three project factsheets corresponding to the examples of good practices presented during the workshop.
The four roundtables held during the MOT’s annual event on 21-22 September gave rise to rich discussions among the 200 participants present in Morteau and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
The Conference on the Future of Europe, launched on 9 May 2021, is an unprecedented exercise in participatory democracy open to all the citizens of the 27 Member States. An interactive and multilingual digital platform enables everyone to take part in the discussions, express ideas and organise events.
At a time when the pandemic is on the rise again in Europe and health measures are being strengthened on both sides of the Rhine, the European Territorial Authority of Alsace and the Grand Est Region, in cooperation with the Centre Européen de la Consommation (European Centre for Consumer Protection) and the INFOBEST network, have made available a digital tool to aid with crossing borders.
The conference on cross-border rail links organised in June 2021 by the MOT and the PAMINA Eurodistrict, with the support of the Committee of the Regions, brought together nearly 200 participants.
The policy brief "Cross-border monitoring and observation in Europe" explores the main takeaways from research studies done at EU level, compiling the most relevant EU documents, and aims to support the upscaling of good practices for cross-border monitoring and observation to pan-European level.
As an “action partner”, the MOT is playing an active role in the “Small Towns of Tomorrow” programme being led by the ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires – National Agency for Territorial Cohesion). On 25 October, it took part in the programme’s national conference, aimed at the 1600 participating towns. Bringing together no fewer than 600 participants, it provided an opportunity for numerous political and technical discussions between all of the stakeholders.
On the 10th anniversary of its creation on 27 October, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Euskadi Navarra Euroregion presented its new strategic plan.
Following the sixth Franco-Luxembourg Intergovernmental Commission (ICG) that took place on 19 October in Belval in the presence of the Minister of State Clément Beaune, agreements between the two countries were reached notably with respect to transport and teleworking.
At a time when environmental health is a growing concern for citizens and the Commission is launching its ambitious “Zero-pollution action plan” within the framework of the European Green Deal, the MOT and its network decided to organise a workshop entitled “Breathing without borders: challenges in improving air quality in cross-border regions” during the European Week of Cities and Regions.
Concrete expressions of the Aachen Treaty, two MORO* pilot projects on the Franco-German border aim to strengthen the cross-border dimension of territorial development practices, using an innovative method that has been widely tried out in Germany – the "Planspiel"**:
"Maintaining cross-border cooperation at the heart of the European project" is the ambition of the "Strasbourg Declaration", signed on 7 October 2021, in Strasbourg, by the three founding partners of the European Cross-Border Citizens' Alliance.
At the research seminar "The model of the Franco-German border – Reconciliation, cooperation, integration", organised by the Jean Monnet FRONTEM network, a "Manifesto on the future of cross-border cooperation in Europe", addressed to France’s presidency of the EU, and to the Conference on the Future of Europe, was published.
The use of the state of emergency in three of the past six years has led the Conseil d'Etat, in the context of its 2021 annual study, to analyse the lessons learned from this exceptional measure. It is proposing to establish principles of use with 15 proposals for improvement.
