Belgium-Germany

Border: Belgium-Germany

Border: Belgium-Germany

Date(s) of establishment: 1956 (current demarcation)
Length of border: 167 km
Regions concerned: Germany – Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate); Belgium – Province of Liège

European programme(s):

Belgium-Germany

At 167 km in length, the German-Belgian border separates the Belgian region of Liège and the German regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. The border begins in the north at boundary marker 193, on a hill known as the “Vaalserberg” close to Aachen, marking the tripoint between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and it ends at boundary marker 52 at the Germany-Luxembourg-Belgium tripoint.

History

Belgium was created from territories situated between France and the United Provinces1, becoming de facto independent in 1830, and officially in 1839 with the Treaty of London. Up to the Second World War, the whole territory was marked by numerous changes in the demarcation of the border.

After the Second World War, Beligum was entrusted with the administration of certain German territories such as the localities of Aachen-Bildchen, Losheim and Losheimergraben. These towns were returned to Germany in 1956, following the signing of the accord of 26 September 1956 whose goal was to improve the demarcation of the border so that it did not prejudice the local population.

The border between Belgium and Germany is thus strongly marked by history. Since the establishment of the definitive demarcation, it has opened up to increasingly advanced cross-border cooperation.

Cross-border cooperation

Germany and Belgium participate jointly in the operational programme “Euregio Meuse-Rhin”. The trinational program concerns the region of Aachen and the districts of Bitburg-Prüm and Daun (DE) and the provinces of Liège and Belgian Limburg (BE) as well as the south and the centre of Dutch Limburg (NL). Its strategy for cooperation aims to stimulate joint regional development in the economic, spatial planning and social fields. The programme aims to establish sustainable development in a region in which the borders do not present an obstacle. Economic development and improved quality of life, through the proliferation of cross-border services and cultural ties, are also among the objectives of the operational program.

The German-Belgian border is also integrated within the area of the Greater Region, crossed by major flows of border workers. This long-established territory of cross-border cooperation between Lorraine, Wallonia, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland is marked both by a diversity in terms of cooperation and by significant common challenges, led by a multilevel governance rich in cooperation bodies.

The “Greater Region” cross-border cooperation programme aims to strengthen the attractiveness of the territory and encourage innovation and economic development, and as a consequence the creation of better quality jobs, as well as aiming to improve the availability and the potential of training facilities. This is the only programme managed by a European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) and this has been the case since 2010.

  1. The "United Provinces", also known as the “Dutch Republic”, and officially as the "Republic of the Seven United Netherlands" was the name taken by the seven Northern provinces of the Seventeen Provinces or Spanish Netherlands from 1581 until 1795 and the creation of the Kingdom of Holland in 1806.


Copyright Photo: Ludovic Péron


Territory projects and institutional bodies for cooperation

Cross-border cooperation at the regional level

Greater Region
Euregio Meuse-Rhin
Réseau de Villes Maastricht-Aachen-Heerlen-Hasselt-Liège