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Cross-border
economic
development 18 Territory portraits: economic development on different borders
Cooperation between chambers of commerce across the French-Belgian
border goes back a long way.
Ì Ì In 1991, EURO 3, a European Economic Interest Group (EEIG),
was created by the Greater Lille CCI, VOKA and the CCI Wallonie-
Picarde, three chambers of commerce which are very active in
the area of cross-border cooperation along the Franco-Belgian
border. This provides a forum for discussion, position-taking
and the development of concrete proposals with regard to the
economic issues faced in the cross-border area. EURO 3 intends
to create a cross-border investment fund.
In terms of employment:
Ì Ì The EuresChannel network,18 founded in 1993 by the three
public employment agencies concerned (Le Forem – for Wallonia,
VDAB – for Flanders, and Pôle Emploi – for France) and the social
partners (businesses and employees), aims at facilitating labour
mobility across the border.
The configurations of partnership between players concerned with
cross-border economic development on either side of the border are
not entirely symmetrical. For example, in West Flanders, there is a circuit
between representatives of businesses, such as VOKA and UNIZO,
and the Province, either directly or through POM and OCK. There is no
equivalent link between consular chambers and territorial authorities
concerning cross-border issues on the French side of the border, for
example, between the Greater Lille CCI and the Nord-Pas de Calais
Region. The situation is similar in the area of innovation: while, on the
French side, Nord France Innovation Développement, the Region’s
operator, does not communicate with the consular chambers, on the
Flemish side, the business-research connection is pursued by OCK,
which works to bring together businesses, via VOKA and the Greater Lille
CCI, and technology centres, in the framework of the TANDEM project.
18 For more information:
As regards the two EGCTs, the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis
and West-Vlaanderen/Flanders–Dunkerque–Côte d’Opale, which are
tasked with creating links and coordination, the partners regularly
make choices as to which initiatives should be carried out jointly by
the cross-border body, and which should be implemented directly by
their own departments.
In terms of funding frameworks, the France-Wallonia-Flanders and 2
Seas programmes have supported numerous projects in the field of
economic development. The FWVL programme for 2014-2020 proposes
the development of project portfolios by theme or territory. In this vein,
several of the players mentioned above plan to develop portfolios of
projects in the economic field.
Alzette-Belval, new town site at the Franco-Luxembourg border