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Cross-border
economic
development 17
Territory portraits: economic development on different borders
Networking events have been organised, bringing together French and
Belgian businesses, research centres and technical hubs.
Ì Ì The main event is Innov’embre,14 an event which, since 2013,
has included a cross-border element.
Labour market
The employment situation is quite varied along the border, with high
levels of unemployment on the French side (ranging from 12.9% in
Nord-Pas de Calais to 9.4% in Picardie) and Wallonia (11.7% in Hainaut
Province and 8% in Namur Province), but very low levels on the Flemish
side (3.2% in West Flanders).15
Along the French-Belgian border, flows of cross-border workers are
smaller than along other borders; Belgium receives 12% of all French
cross-border workers. In 2013, about 39,000 French residents worked
in Belgium.16 Crossing in the other direction, 10,000 Belgian residents
worked in France. The French cross-border workers are in general
low-skilled (manual workers for the most part) and work in industry and
the agri-food business. In West Flanders, they tend to work in sectors
which do not require them to have knowledge of Dutch.
The labour market is not, however, completely fluid. For example, there
is a lack of engineers in West Flanders but the positions are not filled by
French employees due to their lack of language skills (Dutch and English).
14 For more information:
15 Source: EUROSTAT Statistical Atlas (2011 data)
16 Source: “Pages de profils”, INSEE Nord Pas-de-Calais, February 2014
Along this border, there are a number of initiatives designed to encourage
cross-border work with respect to the recognition of the other country’s
qualifications and advertising job vacancies.
Ì Ì The Forum de l’Emploi de l’Eurométropole17 (Eurometropolis
Job Forum) has been organised each year since 2007 by Pôle
Emploi (the French public employment agency), VDAB (the Flemish
public employment agency), UNIZO, FOREM (Wallonia’s public
employment agency).
Players in cross-border economic
governance
In terms of economic development, public actions are being stepped up
at the regional level (and to a lesser extent at the local level) following
reforms made on both sides of the border. For example, for the period
2014-2020, the objective of the Nord-Pas de Calais Region is to develop
more systematic cooperation with Flanders and Wallonia, based on
common interests identified through a comparison of regional Smart
Specialisation Strategies.
17 This is a forum where job-seekers and recruiters can meet and discuss career opportunities in
the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai region. Since 2007, the Forum has brought together 35,435 visitors,
669 companies and 3,599 job vacancies. For more information:
TANDEM project
© Réseau J’innove en Nord – Pas de Calais