BROCHURE_DEV_ECO

Cross-border

economic

development

Territory portraits: economic development on different borders

Labour market

The rate of unemployment on either side of the Rhine differs substantially.

On the French side, in the first quarter of 2013, unemployment in Alsace

stood at 9.5%. Looking at the detail by employment area reveals a more

contrasting situation, with 60% of the region’s job-seekers concentrated

in Strasbourg (10.6%) and Mulhouse (11.6%), while the employment

area around Saint-Louis (6%) benefits from its proximity to the Basel

economy. On the Swiss and German sides, the figures point to a much

more favourable economic climate, with unemployment at 4% in the

Land of Baden-Württemberg and the Canton of Basel-City.

Historically, the Upper Rhine region has been characterised by substantial

cross-border flows due to the close cultural and linguistic ties between

the different sides of the border. North-West Switzerland is the main

destination of these workers, with 31,000 of them being French and

27,500 German. Another 28,000 French people travel daily to work in

Germany. Very few workers appear to leave the Swiss cantons, and

France only hosts a few hundred cross-border workers.

The recent

economic crisis has led to a temporary slowdown in flows of cross-

border workers, which have however picked up again in recent months.

Nonetheless, public and private players are in agreement that the

Alsatians’ lack of qualifications and the decline of their German language

skills restrict their mobility to employment areas where qualified workers

are very much needed.

The cross-border placement of job-seekers service

was

reinforced since 2013 by the setting up of three cross-border

placement services along the French-German border.

In terms

of vocational training and apprenticeships, efforts also led to

the signing, on 12 September 2013, of a framework agreement

regarding cross-border apprenticeships in the Upper Rhine, which

settles, among other things, the question of apprenticeship tax,

which is covered entirely by the Alsace Region. However, it remains

to motivate potential French candidates who appear reluctant to

take up this opportunity.

Players in cross-border economic

governance

Public action in this area is more extensive in France, where the Region of

Alsace has traditionally been a leading player. Currently in the process of

developing its Alsace 2030 strategy, the regional authority has identified

cross-border action as an area for development and are involving Swiss

and German partners in their planning workshops.

The Urban Community of Strasbourg, which has recently expanded its

Economic Development Directorate, has become increasingly aware of

the advantage of an economic strategy at the cross-border level and in

2009 drew up its strategic road map Strasbourg 2020, which includes

a cross-border section and several cross-border projects, some of

which are mentioned above.

Source:

Le tissu

économique

en Alsace et dans la CUS:

évolution

2008-2013 (The economic

fabric of Alsace and the Urban Community of Strasbourg: developments in 2008-2013)

, Les

indicateurs de l’ADEUS, issue 66, March 2014.

Source:

www.eures-t-rhinsuperieur.eu

For more information, see the Project Factsheet.

It should also be noted – and this is much more unusual on account

of the distribution of public-sector competences in France – that the

Haut-Rhin Department, faced with a considerable competitiveness

differential due to the proximity of Basel, has mobilised its resources to

support cross-border initiatives, in particular for territorial infrastructure

and development projects (IBA Basel 2020 and 3Land projects).

Another important point is that the three chambers of commerce and

industry (CCI) in Alsace have merged their departments dedicated to

cross-border action into the Cross-Border Cooperation Directorate at

the CCI Alsace, providing a single point of contact for the Swiss and

German consular chambers.

In the area of employment, the Strasbourg Jobs and Training

Centre (Maison de l’emploi et de la formation de Strasbourg), which

includes Pôle Emploi (France’s public employment agency), the

Bundesagentur für Arbeit and German business representatives on

its executive board, leads

a cross-border GPEC (forward-looking

management of jobs and skills) for port-related professions

Central government departments participate actively in the EURES

partnership via the DIRECCTE (Regional Directorate for Business,

Competition, Consumers and Employment).

On the French side, therefore, there is multi-layered public involvement,

which is not however coordinated, for political reasons.

At the cross-border level, there are cooperation bodies such as the

Upper Rhine Conference and the Upper Rhine Trinational Metropolitan

Region, the economic component of which brings together the chambers

of commerce and industry (CCIs) of the three countries.

It remains difficult to establish coordination with the German and

Swiss systems, however. Dialogue is easier with Germany, where CCIs

have a similar status to the French counterparts and where economic

competence is shared between municipalities and the Länder. Such

cooperation has been much more difficult with Switzerland, with its

economically liberal and pragmatic traditions, where the CCIs are

private and independent organisations.

The TransInfoNet network

, which since 1996 has brought together

the five Chambers of Trades of the cross-border region in order to

offer both legal and administrative support for cross-border service

provision, constitutes a more consolidated partnership structure.

Last February’s vote, the implications of which remain unclear

in terms of the region’s economic stability, has cooled relations

with Switzerland. The development of economic cooperation is

therefore on hold for the time being.