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Cross-border
economic
development 20 Practical guide : building partnerships
Identifying legal and
administrative obstacles
Identifying obstacles is the first step towards removing them and this step should not be overlooked.
Obstacles may be identified through surveys, calls for papers, interviews, seminars and working groups.
It is vital to survey not only regional and local authorities, but also chambers of commerce and industry,
development agencies, employer organisations and trade unions and businesses themselves.
It is important to analyse the
nature of the problems, their
consequences (territories and
structures affected) and their
causes in as much detail as
possible. Identifying obstacles
is a regular, even continuous
process and it is necessary to
track the issues to see how they
evolve over time.
E x a m p l e s :
The Economic and Social
Committee of the Greater
Region listed the administrative
obstacles to economic and
sustainable development in this
region in the final Report of the
Greater Region’s 14th Summit
(2013-2014). The list of obstacles is
compiled and updated by the Trier
European and Innovation Centre
(EIC Trier GmbH).
As part of the work of
the economy pillar of the
Trinational Metropolitan
Region (TMR), a study was
conducted in 2013 with over 350
Upper Rhine businesses to pinpoint
obstacles to their development.
In 2005-2007, the French-
Belgian parliamentary working
group (made up of six members
of parliament on each side of the
border) identified the impediments
to cooperation along this border;
the economy was one of the areas
studied.
Following a call for contributions
(which received over 300
responses), thematic technical
consultation meetings and plenary
sessions with the members of
parliament, nearly 80 obstacles
were listed in this area. This process
was updated in 2013-2014 at the
initiative of the of the Nord-Pas de
Calais Region prefecture and with
the support of the MOT.
org/bdd-territoires/territories/
territory/show/groupe-de-travail-
parlementaire-franco-belge/
Thinking about solutions and
helping to resolve problems
While partners who collaborate to further the economic development of cross-border territories do not
in general have the power to remove legal obstacles, their in-depth knowledge of the field enables them
to play a crucial role in proposing solutions. Continuous information feedback and liaison with national
authorities are essential. In this regard, inter-governmental committees and parliamentary working groups
are good fora for local-national dialogue.
Working groups that bring
together the relevant institutions
(at local, national and European
levels), as well as stakeholders,
are particularly important in
identifying possible solutions.
Before thinking about solutions,
it is vital to jointly define the
ultimate goal of the removal
of the obstacle. This makes it
possible to not only ascertain
that there is consensus among
the partners, but also provides
indications about the types
of solution to be devised and
whether or not resolving the
problem is a priority.
To ensure that the meetings of
these groups are effective, the
first few meetings should be
devoted to a general overview
of the obstacles. Subsequent
meetings should spotlight one
obstacle at a time. Having a
limited agenda makes it possible
to focus in detail on defining
solutions. It is useful to review
progress made and attempts
to resolve issues as a basis
for reflection. The relevance,
feasibility and effectiveness of
the solutions proposed must
then be assessed. Lastly, it is
important to agree on a precise
timetable for the resolution
of the problem, to allocate
appropriate human and financial
resources and to clarify the
tasks to be carried out by the
different partners.
E x a m p l e :
A series of nine workshops
on identifying solutions were
organised with the support of the
MOT as part of the process of
updating the list of obstacles
to French-Belgian cooperation in
2013-2014.