News

  • Territorial diplomacy and cross-border cooperation: the case of France’s border

    PUBLICATION

    Territorial diplomacy and cross-border cooperation: the case of France’s border

    November 2019

    "The study of developments since the 1980s raises questions about the role and place of territorial authorities in an international system involving diverse players, and prompts a rethinking, by means of infra-State players, of the historical roles of diplomacy: representing and negotiating." The article ["Diplomatie territoriale et coopération transfrontalière : Le cas des frontières françaises"] analyses this diplomacy in the cross-border context along France’s borders."

  • The Nord Department celebrates 30 years of cross-border cooperation

    TERRITORIES

    The Nord Department celebrates 30 years of cross-border cooperation

    November 2019

    On Monday, 21 October 2019 at the Stablinski Velodrome in Roubaix, the Nord Department, West Flanders Province and Hainaut Province celebrated 30 years of cross-border cooperation.

  • EUROPE

    Sign the joint declaration on healthcare in cross-border regions!

    November 2019

    The network of European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA) and the Healthacross initiative have published a joint declaration aimed at promoting cross-border cooperation in the area of healthcare, and at putting forward political recommendations.

  • Assessing the territorial impact of cross-border cooperation

    EUROPE

    Assessing the territorial impact of cross-border cooperation

    November 2019

    The ESPON programme has published its new report about Territorial Impact Assessment for Cross-Border Cooperation – TIA CBC.

  • Signature in Toulouse of a Franco-German declaration

    NATIONAL LEVEL

    Signature in Toulouse of a Franco-German declaration

    October 2019

    The 21st Franco-German Council of Ministers took place in Toulouse on 16 October 2019, bringing together France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, as well as the French and German ministers. On this occasion, and following on from the Aachen Treaty, the “Franco-German Declaration of Toulouse” was signed, which reaffirms the commitments made at the highest level of government with respect to Franco-German cooperation.

  • Energy, citizenship, the ECBM, observation: major topics at the heart of the workshops attended by the MOT

    EUROPE

    Energy, citizenship, the ECBM, observation: major topics at the heart of the workshops attended by the MOT

    October 2019

    At the 2019 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities, which brought together over 9,000 participants in Brussels, the MOT ran a workshop entitled "No country is an island: joint cross-border strategies for a clean energy transition".

  • Study for the EIB - Identifying cross-border investment projects in Europe

    MOT

    Study for the EIB - Identifying cross-border investment projects in Europe

    October 2019

    Between November 2018 and July 2019, the MOT and CESCI (the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives) collaborated on producing a study for the European Investment Bank and its European Investment Advisory Hub.

  • "A multidimensional measurement of the integration between European border regions"

    PUBLICATION

    "A multidimensional measurement of the integration between European border regions"

    October 2019

    Cross-border integration in Europe is a complex and multifaceted process that has contrasting impacts on border regions. In this article, the authors provide, with the aid of statistical indicators, an analysis of cross-border integration along the EU’s internal borders, highlighting the similarities and discrepancies that can be observed between different territories.

  • Congress of Local Public Enterprises in Strasbourg

    MOT

    Congress of Local Public Enterprises in Strasbourg

    October 2019

    On 9 October 2019, the Federation of Local Public Enterprises (EPL) held its annual congress in Strasbourg, bringing together EPL from all over France.

  • Towards coordination on obstacles at the European level?

    EUROPE

    Towards coordination on obstacles at the European level?

    October

    With the support of the International Visegrad Fund, CESCI, the Hungarian equivalent of the MOT, and its partners along the borders between Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have put forward proposals concerning the ECBM and the resolution of cross-border obstacles between these four countries. They suggest the creation of a European network of national contact points that could either be set up at national level or be pooled by several countries, as happens in the Nordic Council.

  • Workshops in Bayonne and San Sebastian for the Basque Country Cross-Border Cooperation Plan

    MOT

    Workshops in Bayonne and San Sebastian for the Basque Country Cross-Border Cooperation Plan

    October 2019

    As part of the process of drawing up its Cross-Border Cooperation Plan, the Basque Country Community (CAPB) ran "cross-border cooperation workshops", in Bayonne on 20 September and in San Sebastian on 25 September, with support from the MOT and the Atlantic and Pyrenees Urban Planning Agency (AUDAP).

  • Annual meeting of EGTCs in Palma

    EUROPE

    Annual meeting of EGTCs in Palma

    October 2019

    The annual meeting of the EGTC Platform took place in Palma, Spain, on 27 September 2019, in partnership with the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion EGTC and the Government of the Balearic Islands. Jean Peyrony made a contribution in a roundtable devoted to the new ECBM tool, currently under discussion by the EU Council, which is aimed at facilitating the resolution of cross-border obstacles along Europe’s borders.

  • Editorial by Pascal Curie, Vice-President of the Greater Besançon Metropolis in charge of forward planning, regional development and strategy for the territory

    TERRITORIES

    Editorial by Pascal Curie, Vice-President of the Greater Besançon Metropolis in charge of forward planning, regional development and strategy for the territory

    October 2019

    The Greater Besançon Metropolis is particular in being the first major urban centre one gets to when coming from the Swiss Jura Arc, while at the same time being relatively far away from it. The Jura mountain range is both a geographical obstacle and a territorial asset; indeed, the border region is a well-preserved area with a wealth of shared natural and cultural features.

  • The MOT network in Besançon

    MOT

    The MOT network in Besançon

    October 2019

    Cross-border metropolitan cooperation initiatives were spotlighted at the MOT network’s day-long meeting, co-organised with the Greater Besançon Metropolis, on 25 September.

  • Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict: A cross-border cycle ride to bring citizens on either side of the Rhine together

    TERRITORIES

    Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict: A cross-border cycle ride to bring citizens on either side of the Rhine together

    October 2019

    On 22 September 2019, amateur and professional cyclists from either side of the Rhine set off to discover the territory of the Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict during a cross-border cycle ride.

  • TERRITORIES

    Another perspective on the economy of the Jura Arc region

    October 2019

    With an exploration of the imbalances between the productive and residential economies, the Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum ended its thematic series of discussions on the economy involving all the members of its committee.

  • TEIN4CITIZENS - a project to involve citizens

    EUROPE

    TEIN4CITIZENS - a project to involve citizens

    October 2019

    "How can we encourage citizens in border regions to take part in the discussions about the future of Europe?" This is one of the questions at the heart of the "TEIN4citizens" project being implemented by nine partners from the TEIN network.

  • "The cross-border dimension – a new impetus for the territory"

    TERRITORIES

    "The cross-border dimension – a new impetus for the territory"

    September 2019

    Editorial by Tristan Atmania, Deputy Director of the Territorial Attractiveness and Competitiveness Department – Saint-Avold Conurbation: "In this crucial year for Europe, our territory of the Moselle, at the crossroads of the founding countries of the European Union, and also of the Saar-Lor-Lux Greater Region, is at a turning point in its history. In this respect, the cross-border cooperation that is already being forged in all areas of daily life represents a major asset to be developed in the context of the competition that we face with the other regions of the world. [...]"

  • The Saint-Avold Conurbation – a new member of the MOT’s network

    TERRITORIES

    The Saint-Avold Conurbation – a new member of the MOT’s network

    September 2019

    Individual decisions carry important weight in a world brimming over with vitality. Decisions that affect many people and that, taken together, have an impact on certain regions’ demographic developments and economic strength. Such changes can only be managed if we are willing to evolve. The Saint-Avold Conurbation is rising to this challenge and is taking advantage of synergies to pool skills for the benefit of all.

  • Study on cross-border employment for the Lille European Metropolis

    MOT

    Study on cross-border employment for the Lille European Metropolis

    Septembre 2019

    The MOT has produced a study with the aim of informing the Lille European Metropolis about the socioeconomic features of Belgian Flanders, and the way its economic fabric and employment sector function.

  • EUROPE

    Switzerland's border regions write to the Commission

    September 2019

    On 2 September, the leaders of nine Swiss border regions sent a letter to the President of the European Commission in which they expressed their concerns about the state of the relationship between the European Union and Switzerland. They fear that a rejection in a referendum of the framework agreement would undermine the basis of the bilateral treaties – with adverse economic consequences for the border regions.

  • Design'In – a project to revitalise city centres along the Franco-Belgian border

    TERRITORIES

    Design'In – a project to revitalise city centres along the Franco-Belgian border

    September 2019

    Within the framework of a project funded by the Interreg V France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen programme, the cities of Tournai, Mons, Courtrai and the Lille European Metropolis have set themselves the challenge of strengthening and stimulating the development of their city centres by making use of design.

  • TERRITORIES

    Franco-Belgian agreement on emergency services

    September 2019

    On 18 July 2019, framework agreement concerning the cross-border intervention of emergency services was signed by the Belgian Minister of the Interior, Pieter De Crem, and his French counterpart, Christophe Castaner.

  • Practical guide: Border cities and climate change in Africa

    PUBLICATION

    Practical guide: Border cities and climate change in Africa

    September 2019

    This practical guide, published by the secretariat of the Sahel and West Africa Club, has been produced with assistance from the MOT. It offers many insights on the legislative and financial levers for developing cross-border initiatives on resilience to climate change in West Africa.

  • Borders and mobility in day-to-day life: ways of life in the Basel trinational conurbation

    PUBLICATION

    Borders and mobility in day-to-day life: ways of life in the Basel trinational conurbation

    September 2019

    Yann Dubois, Editions Alphil-Presses universitaires suisses, Collection "Espaces, mobilités et sociétés" No. 9, 613 pp, 2019 - in French.