It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Pierre Mauroy. He was a major architect of decentralisation, of the construction of Europe and of cross-border cooperation. He was also a great president for the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière from 2001 to 2008, and subsequently continued to provide guidance for it as honorary president. We were honoured to work with him. A major figure has left us.
The Réseau des Pôles Métropolitains (metropolitan hubs network), the MOT, DATAR and the FNAU held a seminar on this topic on 19 March 2013.
The MOT produced a map summarising the main cross-border agreements, structures and programmes on French borders.
The MOT activity report for 2012, available (in French) by clicking here, reports on intense activity, both at operational level, with studies and tasks in the field and many services to members, and at national and European levels, with support for the definition of a cross-border policy in France, preparation of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy, and European contributions for ensuring better consideration of cross-border territories.
In a dynamic context of reform - redefinition of cross-border policy and decentralisation process in France, preparation of the 2014-2020 programmes at European level - the MOT has produced a methodological guidebook aimed at improving articulation between cohesion policy, governance structures and cross-border territorial approaches.
Organised by the MOT, the conference "Cross-border territories, regional and national policies: what coordination for 2014-2020?" was attended by more than 200 persons at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, on 24 October 2012.
The 10th edition of the Open Days, the European week of Regions and Cities, took place from 8 to 11 October 2012 in Brussels, bringing together more than 5600 persons from all over Europe. The MOT had a strong presence throughout the week. In particular, it organised a workshop on “Building cross-border territories by using tools for integrated local development: good practices and future developments in the 2014-2020 period”.
On 10 July 2012, the representation of the Land of Baden-Württemberg in Brussels hosted a symposium on “The future of European territorial cooperation: capacity building in cross-border territories”.
Nearly 400 participants met on 25 and 26 June at A Coruña in Spain at the "1st Congress on Smart Cooperation" organised by the CECICN.
The XVth General Assembly of the MOT took place at the Palais Brongniart in Paris on 4 April, attended by nearly 100 participants and welcoming a number of personalities and elected representatives from cross-border territories.
