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Cross-border
economic
development
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Territory portraits: economic development on different borders
Economic fabric
The shared past of the mining and steel industry has given way to a
new generation of economic activities, principally the automotive sector
and tertiary activities, but also the agri-food and timber industries.
Nevertheless, each region has its specificities.
Handicraft activities are highly developed in Rhineland-Palatinate, which
has a dense network of SMEs and is also seeing growth in the tertiary
sector, with tourism and financial and management services. Wallonia
has been greatly affected by the decline in the mining, metalworking
and textile industries. The agri-food and chemical industry, along with
business services are contributing to the region’s economic regeneration.
Lorraine is drawing on its industrial past to develop growth and jobs in key
sectors such as transport, construction and healthcare. The metalworking
industry and the timber/paper/cardboard/textile/composites industries
occupy an important place in the local economy. Moreover, these
industries are among the 12 strategic sectors identified by the Lorraine
Region. Services constitute the most representative sector of Saarland’s
economy, while automobile construction and its suppliers still account
for a quarter of jobs. Luxembourg, which is the economic heart of the
Greater Region is, for its part, very much dominated by the services
sector, above all financial services.
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Source: Operational programme of the INTERREG IV A Greater Region programme (2007-
2013).
German-owned firms, mainly SMEs with fewer than 50 employees, have
a strong presence in Lorraine, with a greater concentration in the east
of the Moselle Department. Regarding services, the companies Lidl and
Aldi, the call centres of Bertelsmann/Arvato and the car dealerships of
Volkswagen and Schaeffler are the main employers. As for the industrial
sector, the manufacture of rubber and plastic products, transport
equipment, machinery and electrical equipment provide the bulk of
jobs. In total, 4.7% of employees in the non-farm market sectors in
Lorraine and 11.2% of employees in the region’s industrial sector are
employed by German firms.
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With respect to the provision of services,
the Luxembourg market is particularly attractive for firms in Lorraine,
Wallonia and Saarland, especially those in the construction industry.
Although it occupies a central position to some degree, not all of the
Greater Region’s economic functions are concentrated in the Grand
Duchy, which is also dependent on the regions beyond its borders.
Luxembourg and the other regional hubs (Namur, Metz, Trier, Saarbrücken,
etc.) are therefore in a complementary relationship economically speaking,
which requires the strengthening of internal cohesion and better links
between the cross-border area and its hinterland.
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Source: DIRECCTE Lorraine.
Tram-Train SaarMoselle
© Eurodistrict SaarMoselle