In 2015, more than 360,000 inhabitants of border areas in France worked in a neighbouring country, near to the border. The economic dynamism of neighbouring countries such as Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco, together with the salaries offered, have encouraged working-age people living in France’s border areas to go and work there.
The only border that exists in the Grand Est is that which we have “in our hearts”. It is part of our emotional relationship to our history, now turned towards the future, in which on a daily basis we shape a territory that is open in all directions, open to the need to cultivate our differences as they are an asset, and open to cooperation in all areas: be it providing responses to the challenges of AI, research programmes or university projects; or be it encouraging young people to become multilingual, bringing a railway line back to life, building a cycle path or developing an area of countryside working together in a network – because it’s above all a story of human beings.
In spite of its small surface area, the Grand Duchy continues to attract skills from all over Europe. A symbolic milestone was passed in 2018, when the number of commuters reached 100,000. This is the count of French cross-border workers who every day make the journey to this country located at the heart of European exchanges. This figure will rise to close to 150,000 over the next 15 years.
Within the framework of the Interreg “Greater Region Territorial Development Plan” project, the Greater Region Executives Summit have laid the political groundwork for the drawing-up of a common cross-border territorial strategy for the Greater Region partners.
The latest publication by the French Network of Urban Planning Agencies (FNAU), entitled "L'Europe par les territoires" (“Europe by its territories”) feeds into the debate about Europe and provides different views on the issues relating to cohesion policy and the way in which cities and territories have appropriated the European ideal and the tools of this policy. The MOT contributed to it and several cross-border territories are showcased in it.
The Master in Border Studies is a two-year joint international study program, which addresses the complex economic, political, social and cultural issues of borders and of border regions in Europe and beyond. The Master provides students with the major concepts and analytical tools to understand the various challenges of border regions and cross-border cooperations.
At the 16th Greater Region Summit on 30 January 2019, the Greater Region Executives argued for "ambitious territorial cooperation and a Europe that listens to its citizens".
Created by the common desire of the presidents of eight Public Entities of Intermunicipal Cooperation, the new “North Lorraine Border Region Metropolitan Pole” was launched on 9 January 2019 in Thionville.
In December, the Grand Est Region published a brochure setting out its strategic orientations in the area of cross-border cooperation.
After two years of co-construction, the elected representatives of the Grand Est Region presented the major elements of the Region’s SRADDET at an event in Metz on 30 November 2018.
On 11 December 2018 in Brussels, a declaration of intent regarding the development of closer cooperation between France and the countries of the Benelux Union (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) was signed.
On 7 December 2018 in Metz, the EURES Resource and Documentation Centre/Grand Est Cross-Border Workers hosted the annual seminar of EURES advisers in the Greater Region.
A seminar on the fair distribution of taxes and social security contributions in cross-border areas was held on 25 October in Geneva by the FEDRE Foundation and the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
This eighth edition, which runs to 160 pages, is aimed at French cross-border workers who work in Luxembourg. It gives an overview of the legislation in force, setting out the principal rules to which these workers are subject in the areas of labour law, social security and tax law.
This new issue of "InfObservatoire" sets out the cross-border forecasts of the North Lorraine Urban Planning Agency (AGAPE): "With 150,000 French cross-border workers in Luxembourg in 15 years and huge movement of goods, isn't it time […] to make the cross-border dimension a priority issue?"
The General Commission for Territorial Equality (CGET) has just published its 2017 annual report. An extensive chapter looks at the dynamics of cross-border employment. Border issues are also discussed in other sections of the report.
The Alzette Belval EGTC has just launched an interactive mapping system to provide fair access to leisure equipment and services across the cross-border territory. It became apparent that such an initiative was necessary to encourage its inhabitants to take part in activities on either side of the border.
To mark its 20th anniversary, the MOT produced a map of European cross-border territories. Now, on the occasion of its 21st General Assembly, it is publishing – and has had printed in the form of a large poster – a map showing the cross-border territories along France's borders.
The new French regions have to draw up a "Schéma régional d’aménagement, de développement durable et d’égalité des territoires" (SRADDET – Regional Spatial Planning, Sustainable Development and Territorial Equality Plan). In order to set out a unifying political project for its territory, the Grand Est Region has chosen to place the cross-border dimension at the heart of its actions and to involve its cross-border partners in drawing it up.
On 20 March 2018, at a summit meeting, France and Luxembourg signed four bilateral agreements, including one to strengthen cooperation with respect to cross-border transport. These are "a set of agreements that have a concrete impact on the daily lives of our citizens. Our objective is joint and equal financing of a number of transport infrastructures," explained the French Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe.
"Beyond the speeches and symbols, what meaning can the concept of a cross-border region have? By defining the region as an identity-based, territorial and institutional construction that endures over time, this work identifies and interrogates the specificities of this process in the cross-border setting. The issues are explored using the emblematic example of the Greater Region, which launched a long-term strategy in 2008 involving Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Wallonia."
As part of the "UniGR - Centre for Border Studies" project, the six member universities (Kaiserslautern, Liège, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Saarland and Trier) of the University of the Greater Region (UniGR) are going to set up a "European centre of skills and resources in border studies" with international visibility.
The Regional Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Ceser) of the Grand Est region has published a study looking at the reduction of cross-border obstacles in the Grand Est region.
This publication, to which the MOT has contributed, notably by producing the maps, aims to take stock of cross-border cooperation in the field of health and the evolution of Europe’s role in the healthcare sector in global terms, by focussing on 7 experiences in Europe and by looking closely at the French-Belgian situation.
