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Cross-border
economic
development
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Cross-cutting themes in cross-border economic development
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The latter obstacle has been resolved for Upper Rhine
with
the signing on 12 September 2013 of a framework agreement on
cross-border apprenticeships. The agreement enables apprentices
in Alsace, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate to
carry out the practical part of their training in a firm based in the
neighbouring country.
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A similar agreement was signed on 20 June 2014 between
Lorraine and Saarland
.
Cross-border vocational training therefore remains an ambitious
objective given the legal and administrative obstacles. It is
achievable through ad hoc legal arrangements rather than a
generalised standard response.
Taxation and differences in
legal status
Another impediment to the implementation of a cross-border vocational
training system is
the non-retention of rights to unemployment
benefits for job seekers who wish to undertake training in
neighbouring countries.
The territorialisation of benefits is a result of the fact that these rights are
contingent upon a status which, theoretically, ceases to be recognised
once the border is crossed.
The issue of status is also relevant for cross-border work-study
programmes and apprenticeships
, interns and apprentices do not
necessarily have the same legal statuses on both sides of the border.
This leads to problems relating to civil responsibility, social benefits,
and funding of the vocational training.
Signing of a framework agreement regarding cross-border apprenticeships in the Upper Rhine, September 2013