The project "Gestion Européenne Conjointe des Connexions et Transports pour les îles – GEECCTT-ILES" (Joint European Management of Connections and Transport for the Islands), which is aimed at creating transport links in the Western Mediterranean, has just been approved by the Interreg programme's monitoring committee.
Innovation does not stop at France's borders The Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolis, which now features among the 10 leading smart cities in the world, has been built up around a very dense international ecosystem. This has been in its DNA for a very long time…
The Nice Côte D'Azur Metropolis has at least three particularities that have contributed to its growth.
At the request of the CGET,* the MOT has conducted a study on the cross-border issues in mountain areas, which cover nearly 42% of mainland France's borders.
Jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions and the MOT, this conference brought together more than 60 participants, on 3 February in Brussels. Its objective was to present best practice in the area of risk prevention and crisis management in cross-border zones: forest fires (ES-PT), flooding in the Nisa Euroregion (DE-CZ-PL), seismic risks in the Alps (FR-IT-CH), risks in mountainous regions (FR-ES) and more generally, civil protection (EGTC Euregio Senza Confini IT-AT).
The vice-president of the MOT; Joël Giraud, member of parliament for Hautes-Alpes, is demanding special arrangements in border areas for authorisations for minors leaving the country.
After several decades of innovative projects undertaken between neighbouring countries, cross-border territories have become shared living spaces, and places for discovering a “European citizenship” experienced in daily life.
The members of the CNCD (National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation) approved on 23 November 2016 a White Paper entitled “Diplomatie et territoires" (Diplomacy and Territories) proposed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
On 6 October 2016, the annual meeting of the Interreg VA ALCOTRA programme brought together more than 400 participants in Chamonix.
Organised by the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis,* the European days of cross-border cooperation held in Nice on 21-22 September were a great success, with nearly 400 participants.
This summer, the MOT completely updated its online legal resources relating to cross-border cooperation law.
In the context of drawing up its SRDEII,* the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region asked the MOT, of which it is a member, to carry out an assessment of cross-border issues in the Region (which borders on Switzerland and Italy) that could be included in a cross-border component of the regional programme.
TV programme "C dans l'air" on France 5 - Broadcast on 10 August 2016
The Institut National des Études Territoriales (INET) in Strasbourg has put online a platform designed to centralise a large amount of disparate information about French territorial civil servants' possibilities for mobility in Europe and internationally.
The legislation to strengthen the fight against organised crime, terrorism and the financing adopted on 26 May 2016 provides for the reintroduction in France of required authorisations for any minor leaving the country.
On 12 May, a conference was held to launch a new European project entitled "PASSAGE"*, initiated by the Pas-de-Calais Department and Kent County Council within the framework of the European Straits Initiative. Funded by the Interreg Europe programme, it involves eleven partners on five maritime borders** and is aimed at encouraging cross-border low-carbon initiatives.
Following the regional elections and the reform which reduced the number of regions in mainland France from 22 to 13, the MOT has published a note (in French) on the new French regions and the territorial reform: what will be the impact on cross-border cooperation?.
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.”
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.
The New Territorial Organisation of the Republic Act (the "NOTRe Act") was promulgated on 7 August 2015 in France.
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.
For more than twenty years, the Espace Mont Blanc (FR/IT/CH) has been striving to meet the needs for sustainable and balanced development of the Mont Blanc massif and its valleys, in order to protect and promote this emblematic cross-border territory.
Along France's borders, several INTERREG VA programmes have launched their first calls for projects or are organising their launch events soon.
According to a study by the INSEE published in February 2015, the number of French people living in France but working abroad has increased by 42% since 1999. The study analyses the different causes and characteristics of the resulting flows.
Every day, more than 12000 people take the train to cross the border between France, Italy and Monaco, whether for work or for leisure.
