A seminar organised by the ESPON programme and the Slovak presidency of the EU Council was held in Bratislava on 7-8 December 2016. Its objective was to promote the use of ESPON's findings and tools in decision-making processes, and to discuss future issues for European territories.
On 13 December in Strasbourg, the European Commission presented a revision of the European rules on the provision of unemployment benefits for cross-border workers and also for job-seekers in another Member State, in order to facilitate labour mobility.
"There are borders that can be easily crossed and others that are impassable; there are visible borders and invisible borders; there are political, economic and cultural borders… This first atlas devoted to borders helps us to better understand the issues that are concealed behind the lines that separate or link peoples."
The 5th Franco-Luxembourg intergovernmental commission (IGC) for the strengthening of cross-border cooperation was held on 21 November 2016 in Luxembourg, in the presence of Harlem Désir, Secretary of State for European Affairs (FR), and Corinne Cahen, Minister for the Greater Region (LU).
The Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum commissioned an original piece of work from Thomas Brasey as part of his thematic cycle entitled "Le Doubs Miroir" ("The Doubs Mirror") in order for him to train his photographer's eye on the cross-border territory between Saint-Ursanne in the Swiss Jura and Saint-Hippolyte in Franche-Comté, two municipalities linked by the river Doubs.
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.
Within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility, the European Commission has launched three calls for proposals concerning the implementation of large European transport networks, amounting to 1.9 billion euros. One of the main goals of these projects focuses on interoperability and the reduction of “missing links” in infrastructure, at a cross-border scale.
The president of the MOT, Michel Delebarre, welcomed members of the MOT network on 16 November on the invitation of the Ministry of Overseas France in Paris for two meetings: the Advisory Committee meeting, where activities were presented and the reports made on the functioning of the MOT; and the Technicians’ Platform meeting, which was the occasion for interactive exchanges with members.
ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility at Dutch borders) held its annual conference on 28 October 2016 in Maastricht, on the topic “Europe under pressure: effects for border regions – 25 years after the Maastricht Treaty”. The ITEM annual report, which analyses each year the impact of legislation on the border territories of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, was presented and discussed.
The directors of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Perpignan, Girona, Lleida and Andorra have officially launched the cross-border Chamber of Commerce and Industry “Pirineus Med”: a new body which aims to develop exchanges and cross-border knowledge, and whose goal is to “establish trade relations in the cross-border territory”.
The Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) brings together the French and Spanish border regions, and Andorra. Its main objective is to contribute to harmonious and coordinated development of the Pyrenean massif.
The work of 174 pages offers an environmental, social and economic inventory of the cross-border territory of Greater Geneva on the French-Swiss border.
Close to 300 people gathered in Strasbourg for a major seminar on the cross-border relations of the new “Grand Est” region of France.
The project “Compétences sans Frontières” (Skills without Borders) was launched on 1 October 2016. Its goal is to contribute to reducing the imbalance of supply and demand in the job market of the France-Wallonia-Flanders cross-border region.
A study by the European Parliament analyses the territorial cooperation programmes for the 2014-2020 period.
The MOT took part in two important European meetings at the end of September in Brussels: the third meeting of the experts' group of the European Commission's "Cross-Border Review", and the second meeting of the "Intergovernmental working group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles".
During the European Week of Regions and Cities, the MOT organised two workshops: the first on cross-border investment and the second on rural areas.
With the recent approval by both the German Länder and the federal level of its "Guiding Principles", Germany is emphasising cross-border cooperation in its territorial development policy.
New "Guiding Principles" for Germany's territorial development were adopted in March 2016, which are in line with the idea that "Germany is not an island".
Several spatial planning pilot projects (MORO), such as the one that led to the setting-up of the IMeG,* incorporating border region and cross-border considerations have been launched in Germany.
On 6 October 2016, the annual meeting of the Interreg VA ALCOTRA programme brought together more than 400 participants in Chamonix.
Nearly 600 people gathered for the 37th national meeting of urban planning agencies on 5-7 October in the Basque Country.
Published by Correspondances Lorraines. Author: Pascale Braun. October 2016. Retail price: €20. Title in English: "The Greater East Region: Europe among Neighbours"
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.
