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Cross-border
economic
development
Project factsheets
Bihartean and Euro 3
What activities do they
carry out?
The EURO 3 EEIG represents above all a forum for reflection for
the chairmen of the French and Belgian CCIs to enable them to
formulate joint positions concerning the development of the territory,
businesses, jobs and training.
In addition, EURO 3 is a space in which to experiment and a body that
maintains relations with the political world (the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai
Eurometropolis EGTC) regarding major projects. The Cross-Border
Business Centre (Centre Transfrontalier des Entreprises, CTE GO-KMO)
is EURO 3’s operational tool, which specialises in giving concrete
support, individually and collectively, to those companies wishing to
develop on the other side of the border.
EURO 3 has worked on the transposition of the Flemish BRYO
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project
to the cross-border setting through the BRYO CROSS BORDER project.
The objective of this project is to encourage collaboration between
young entrepreneurs from Flanders, Wallonia and Northern France
through the exchange of good practices, information and networks,
as well as coaching from experts and business leaders. The working
language is English. Eventually, the aim is to create partnership-based
collaborations and even “cross-border businesses”. The first group was
launched in January 2014 with 19 young entrepreneurs and a second
will be launched in January 2015.
EURO 3 also published “Key figures for the Eurometropolis” in October
2012, a document which sets out the main economic characteristics
of the territory covered by the Eurometropolis, an up-to-date version
of which was scheduled for January 2015.
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Also see the factsheet on cross-border project cafés.
Among the other projects which are underway are the creation of a cross-
border investment fund, the launch of the “Third Industrial Revolution”
project in the cross-border setting, the emergence of cross-border
business parks at some former border crossing posts, the creation of
a Eurometropolitan Mobility Agency (Agence Eurométropolitaine de la
Mobilité), the promotion of a modal shift from roads to waterways for
the transportation of goods, support for the Canal Seine Nord Europe
project, the development of cross-border internship opportunities for
young people, and the right to experiment with apprenticeships in the
cross-border setting.
Furthermore, EURO 3 has positioned itself at a more strategic level as a
constructive partner providing assistance to the territory, businesses, jobs
and training, alongside the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis EGCT.
On the Basque side, Bihartean draws on diverse competencies,
enabling a greater range of services to be offered to businesses in
the cross-border region:
those of the Bayonne-Pays Basque CCI (very
much focused on the development and the acquisition of businesses,
employee training, and analyses of the regional economy by sector or
as a whole) and those of the Cámara de Comercio de Gipuzkoa (whose
main activity is the provision of advice in the international setting).
Bihartean has notably organised meetings between entrepreneurs from
the French and Spanish Basque Countries, put companies in contact
with suppliers and service providers, and published a catalogue of
industrial sub-contractors in the region as well as a study of cross-
border purchasing behaviour.
The promotion and strengthening of common economic sectors on either
side of the border (notably through interclustering) is also part of the
remit of the EEIG, which has supported the creation of a cross-border
liquid silicone cluster, bringing together five companies from the French
Basque Country and Euskadi, representing the entire value chain for
this material. The cross-border integration of this sector is intended to
serve as a springboard for these companies to access external markets
and to prospect for new clients in Europe.