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 General
overview
The
conurbation of Strasbourg and the Ortenaukreis stretch out respectively
on the West and the East bank of the Rhine river. These territories
shape a system of 900.000 inhabitants of which 450.000 (50 %) in the 28
municipalities of the Metropolitan area of Strasbourg. Located on a
true European crossroads (navigable waterway of Rhine, north-south and
east-west main road corridors, East European TGV), Strasbourg receives
more than a hundred of European organizations among which the European
Parliament, the Council of Europe or the European Court of Human
Rights. The German part is less dense and wider (from Kehl to
Offenburg) with several interstitial rural areas.
Even if both banks of Rhine are not yet geographically very integrated
(they developed by turning back to the river), proximity ties between
Strasbourg and Kehl go back a long way and fluctuating (border did not
exist between both banks between 1870 and 1918). Today, this area shows
an integration always stronger: cross-border flows of all kinds (work
communting, studies, trade, culture, free time, health), both for the
persons and for vehicles and a growing residential interpenetration:
Germans come to Strasbourg to use services and nice environment, French
go to live in Kehl where real estate is more accessible.
Political
organization on
both sides of the border
At
the local level, the Urban
Community of Strasbourg is an inter-municipal entity gathering the city
of Strasbourg and 27 municipalities of its suburbs. Its most important
competences are urban planning, public transport, water treatment,
economic development, new technologies… At the intermediary
level, Strasbourg is situated in the department of Bas-Rhin which is
competent for social and health action, urban planning and equipment,
education, culture, economic development and environment.
On the German side, the district of Ortenau (Ortenaukreis) consists of
51 cities and municipalities. The administration of the district is
competent for governmental task such as environmentalism, health and
consumer protection, legal supervision and supervision of schools, road
traffic, trade control, forestry, agriculture restructuring, police
(for the district) and building permissions. Wast management, youth and
social assistance, hospitals, culture, school administration and short
distance public transport are autonomous tasks of the local district
administration.
On
the regional level,
Strasbourg is situated in the Alsace region which is responsible for
land planning, transport, education, job training programmes and
culture, secondary schools construction and maintenance, health and
management of European Structural Funds
On the German side, the district of Ortenau belongs to the State of
Baden-Württemberg. The competences of the state are culture,
education, environment and police.
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History of the
cross-border co-operation in the area
The
beginning of the Interreg programmes in the early 1990’s was
a major reason for the development of cross-border collaborations in
the area of Strasbourg-Ortenau. Many initiatives were taken by local
public authorities because of the opportunity offered by the EU to
finance project having a cross-border added-value. In 1999 the
Communauté de Travail Centre (CTC)/Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CENTRE (AG CENTRE) had been created. The same year, an INTERREG II A
Project started with cross border basic studies and cross-border
strategic planning became a central objective. After 5 years of an
intensive work managed by the French and German local authorities with
the support of national public bodies, a white paper on strategic
planning was signed by policy-makers. The aim of that strategy was to
facilitate a cross-border spatial cohesion. Following the adoption of
the white paper in 2004, the French municipalities’
partnership in charge of the SCOTERS (French strategic plan at the
local scale) and the Regionalverband Südlicher Oberrhein have
been responsible for the implementation of that strategy concerning an
area slightly larger than the actual Eurodistrict of Strasbourg-Ortenau
on the French side of the territory.
It is important to mention that the co-operation taking place in that
part of the Rhine Valley is located in a larger cross-border zone
called the Upper-Rhine Region. Two main plate-forms of collaboration
exist at that level: the Upper-Rhine Conference and the Rhine Council
whose objective is to facilitate the organisation of a cross-border
catchment area between France, Germany and Switzerland at a regional
scale.
Upper-Rhine
Conference
The Conference, created in 1975, is mainly a network of experts put
under the co-ordination of law-making public bodies (State and Swiss
Canton) whereas the Council, existing since 1997, is a political
organisation securing the dialogue between the main elected
representatives of the area. Links have been created between the
structures in charge of Strasbourg-Ortenau territory and the
Upper-Rhine Region. The Strasbourg-Ortenau area is used as a spatial
laboratory experimenting solutions proposed at the regional scale
(e.g.: a cross-border health-care organisation).
Current cross-border
governance in the Strasbourg-Ortenau area
The white paper on strategic planning mentioned previously was the
first political will to get a global co-ordination on spatial use in
the area. At the same time, the search for efficient governance
enabling the implementation of the strategy became more and more
central in the political process.
The white paper was not yet signed by the French and German local
authorities when debates on governance started in 2003. After two years
of dialogue, the decision was taken to officialise a network of French
and German local authorities aiming to secure the territorial cohesion
of a conurbation of one million inhabitants. The concept of
Eurodistrict was officially created by Chirac and Schröder on
the occasion of the French-German summit in Strasbourg in 2003 (40th
anniversary of the Traité de l’Elysée).
Then, a convention was signed by local authorities to establish a
Eurodistrict in 2005. The former cooperation CTC/AG CENTRE was
dissolved at the end of the year 2006. This agreement which is still in
use, can be considered as a pragmatic first step towards a potential
and more integrative system. It allows the flexibility of the network
and a birth of a spatial laboratory in which concrete actions can be
tested.
A
short description of the organisation
The Eurodistrict is not a registered structure having its own status
but a political label and web of political and technical competences
and legitimacies. In terms of political responsibility, the executive
body named “Eurodistrict council” is opened only to
some local public authorities (The Municipalities’
Partnership of Strasbourg called the “Communauté
Urbaine de Strasbourg –CUS” in France, the Ortenau
Landrat and the city mayors of Lahr, Kehl, Achern, Offenbourg and
Oberkirch and one representative of the German communes having less
than 20000 inhabitants in Germany). The head of the executive
designated for a one-year period by the Eurodistrict council, is shared
by 2 representatives named “spokesmen”, one per
country, chosen nationally among the council’s members. The
meeting of the council take place at least twice a year. The
building-up of an effective cross-border co-operation has required the
support of a wider set of public actors, hence a
“committee” assisting the council in its action
plan. We can distinguish 3 types of representatives in the committee:
- Eurodistrict council’s
representatives
- Local authorities spatially wider than
the Eurodistrict on both sides of the border and having some specific
legal competences (e.g.: the French Regional council of Alsace
responsible for transportation issues and vocational training
strategies)
- States’ representatives
That committee supports the Eurodistrict in the implementation of its
working program. When the projects of the Eurodistrict cannot be
implemented due to different national legal systems, the committee is
used as a network making proposals to the French and German States in
favour of a more harmonized legislative framework.
The technical work of the Eurodistrict has two major tools.
The first one is “a co-ordination group” (german
Geschäfstelle and french secretariat of the Eurodistrict) in
charge of the daily implementation of the cross-border action plan. The
Eurodistrict having no legal status, the staff is employed by 2 members
of the Eurodistrict council: the “Communauté
Urbaine de Strasbourg-CUS” on the French side and the
Ortenaukreis Council on the German side. 3.5 full-time equivalents are
dedicated to the Eurodistrict’s work program (1.5 on the
German side and 2 on the French one). At the same time, it is important
to mention that the project can benefit from the wider expertise of the
CUS services, especially in terms of logistics. The French and German
members of staff meet one another every other week.
The second tool is an ensemble of “experts groups”
whose objective is to participate in the implementation of specific
themes and actions planned in the working program of the Eurodistrict.
The Eurodistrict council validates the memberships to the experts
groups. The experts can be representatives from the civil society. It
is one of the two participative approach developed within the framework
of the Eurodistrict. The second one is a direct consultation of civil
society representatives by the council when the executive considers it
to be appropriate. A participative strategy can also be organized
through the actions plan (Cf. following chapter).
The Eurodistrict organizes multilevel partnerships because of its work
program and it is also associated to the work of other cross-border
networks, among which the Upper Rhine Regional Conference and the
Interreg Program Committee.
An
overview of finance
In terms of finance, up-to-now, the technical co-ordination has been
paid only by the 2 individual members of the Eurodistrict council
previously mentioned. No financial support has been asked to
non-executive members such as States. At the same time, no Interreg
project has been set up to get some FEDER funding for the management of
the Eurodistrict. Still, its staff can help partners associated to the
work of the Eurodistrict to get Interreg funding for their individual
project (e.g.: health project).
Cross-border
communication
The Eurodistrict council has adopted an communication plan in 2007
(Kommunikationsplan/ plan de communication) but till now only a few
parts has been realised. The Eurodistrict communicates on its actions
through the media when results can be displayed or just before the
happening of their projects when it requires the participation of the
local population (events). An internet site is also dedicated to the
cross-border co-operation and leaflets describing the
Eurodistrict’s objectives are published. The
media’s interest for the work of the Eurodistrict is real.
The press tends to mention the cross-border actions put forwards. The
catchment area of the press is not the same in the French and the
German parts of the territory. It is relatively smaller in Germany
(Kreis of Ortenau) than in France (the whole of Alsace). Local radio
stations are also giving information about the Eurodistrict’s
projects. Radio Ohr in Offenbourg (Germany) has even a program allowing
debates on cross-border issues. Partners of the program can express
themselves in their native language and a simultaneous translation is
made for the German and French listeners.
Existing program in favour
of territorial cohesion
Projects
The working program can be divided in three different types of actions.
The first one is made of events organized for the French and German
populations. Most of them existed previously on the French side of
territory. They have been extended to the German part of it.
The second set of projects is more linked to the establishment of
decision-makers networks whose role is to resolve common problems and
to maximize the German and French assets of the territory. It is a
medium/long term process which has produced already some concrete
results. The Eurodistrict offers an efficient plate-form of debates and
translation services in French and in German for the non-bilingual
members of the networks.
Finally, the third category of actions is linked to lobbying. The
Eurodistrict supports projects/legislation changes benefiting to the
area and which are under the responsibility of external decision-makers.
The objectives of the actions plan are linked to most topics concerning
the daily life of the people living in the cross-border catchment zone.
The most recent and forthcoming cross-border achievements per topic are
the following ones :
Economy/Employment
Employment agencies are working together to facilitate the cross-border
mobility of workers. For instance a brochure has been published
concerning a common procedure in terms of recruitment A working group
has built up a program of cross-border vocational training sessions
starting at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year. Finally, a
conference on economic issues is planned in autumn 2008.
Education and bilingual communication
A special fund is dedicated to the cross-border mobility of pupils in
the Eurodistrict (up to 200 € per trip) and many actions are
taken to sustain the use of the neighbours’ language
(excursion guide targeting schools and covering the whole cross-border
territory – grants for the primary and secondary schools
exchanges taking place into the Eurodistrict area – funding
of cross-border schools events…). Finally, the Eurodistrict
supports the opening of a European school in Strasbourg.
Environment
Many specific working groups have been organized. Pollution problems
and energy matters are considered as 2 important themes of
collaboration. A convention for waste treatment has been signed.
Mobility and transportation infrastructure
The Eurodistrict has actively supported the arrival of the TGV in
Strasbourg and an atlas displaying public transport services existing
in the cross-border territory was published in summer 2008. At the same
time, a single pricing of public transport services is a topic of
intensive co-operation and it should be implemented by the end of 2008.
Public administrations co-operation
The Eurodistrict sustains a simplification of administrative procedures
for some groups crossing the border (e.g.: pupils).
Elderly/Public Health/Security and Justice
Many working groups on senior’s issues have been co-ordinated
by the Eurodistrict. A conference on new types care homes is planned in
the coming months. Germany has some potential to accommodate French
pensioners into specific homes as long as the cost of services could be
paid by the French insurance system. In terms of health issues the work
begins with a kick-off-meeting, organised in 2006, witch has assembled
representatives from different health sectors; a brochure about
hospital services access in the Eurodistrict has been published and 2
Interreg projects concerning epilepsy are in the making. On the
security side, since autumn 2007, German emergency vehicles have a
priority access when circulating into the French Department of
Bas-Rhin. Computing systems are also shared to manage catastrophes and
to co-ordinate the search for bed availability into the
Eurodistrict’s hospitals. During cross-border events of the
Eurodistrict, the coordination between the emergency services of both
riversides has been institutionalised (specific schedules has been
created and the organisms in charge of security will meet in the run-up
of the event).
Postal services and telecommunication/Media
The Eurodistrict is lobbying the Commission in favour of a fairer cost
of cross-border telecommunication. At the same time, the Eurodis66
trict plans to have a more interactive internet site.
Sports and leisure
A
calendar of international sports events can be consulted of the
homepage of the Eurodistrict as well as an sport-bourse for
partnerships. A data base on sport facilities located into the
territory is in the making, a set of information put later on the new
internet site of the Eurodistrict. The Eurodistrict also plans a
cross-border excursion in autumn 2008. Apart from that walk, other
events are organized in 2007 and 2008 such a bicycle fair and a
solidarity race involving more than 17.000 children over 2 days.
The
global framework
In parallel to the thematic actions, a strategic framework has been
built-up during the past few years to have a global view of issues and
expectations for the cross-border area: The Strasbourg-Ortenau
Metropolitan Project. The project initiated by the DIACT, the French
national public agency in charge of spatial planning, started in 2005.
During the following 2 years, some thematic groups were organized to
formulate the content of the Metropolitan strategy. The official white
paper on cross-border spatial planning written a few years earlier was
used as a basis for a renewed approach of territorial cohesion. The
official document fixing the road map for a sustainable and competitive
metropolitan area was signed in 2007.
The main axes of that strategy are the following ones:
-To reinforce the European role and communautary services in the
Eurodistrict
- To organize a stronger culture-orientated cross-border strategy
- To take actions in favour of high education and research
- To develop a co-operation enabling a more sustainable energetic
consumption
The actual actions taking place are contributing to those objectives.
However, an intensification of the cross-border territorial cohesion
requires an evolution of the governance in the coming years.
Added
value of the «EGTC»
URBACT Project
A general overview of the
Local Action Plan
and the URBACT Local Support Group
 The important issue
now is to facilitate the organization of that metropolitan area and to
have structural actions strengthening a sustainable conurbation in a
competitive world-wide environment. An intensification of the
cross-border territorial cohesion requires an evolution of the
governance in the coming years.
Today, the two national spokesmen leading the Eurodistrict agree on the
necessity to explore new methods of governance. The Mayor of Strasbourg
has expressed to the French government the local politicians’
wish to create an innovative system. The newly born European tool for
cross-border governance, the EGTC, is considered as a step to move
progressively towards a European local government. Exchanges of
innovative methods with the other partners of the
«EGTC» URBACT project, will also be a source of new
ideas in favour of an efficient Local Action Plan in the Eurodistrict.
The challenge is, through his process, to intensify visibility by the
inhabitants and to enhance the involvement of civil society.
Benefiting from a long-term cooperation, the Eurodistrict
Strasbourg-Ortenau could exchange with other cross-border conurbations
on how to elaborate common urban planning and strategic documents and
could demonstrate that involving regional and national may enable for
the elaboration of innovative solutions.
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The Eurodistrict of Strasbourg-Ortenau is a meaningful cross-border
initiative. Political actions taken locally to structure a cross-border
area is a symbol of a changing approach of borders in the Union. The
area is a functional territory: French workers commute daily to
Germany, more and more French people tends to settle in
Baden-Württemberg, the French City of Strasbourg because of
its services attracts people from both sides of the border. The
important issue now is to facilitate the organization of that
metropolitan area and to have structural actions strengthening a
sustainable conurbation in a competitive world-wide environment.
During the past 10 years, a cross-border political awareness has
enabled the development of public frameworks: 2 strategies (the white
paper and the metropolitan project) and one public sphere (the
Eurodistrict). Today, the two national spokesmen leading the
Eurodistrict agree on the necessity to explore new methods of
governance. Since 2007, the idea of a more integrated formula leading
to a co-decision process has been promoted locally. The Mayor of
Strasbourg has expressed to the French government the local
politicians’ wish to create an innovative system. A group of
French and German law experts has been set up to explore the potential
for a more integrated structure than the Eurodistrict. The newly born
European tool for cross-border governance, the EGTC, is considered as a
step to move progressively towards a European local government.
The creation of such an ambitious project will require long-standing
efforts especially in terms of national legislations. It will also
require a stronger democratic control of the process. Consequently,
local municipalities would like to organize a public consultation of
the German and French electorate located into the Eurodistrict to get a
popular legitimacy for their integrative strategy. The Local Actions
Plan (LAP) on Governance expected in the «EGTC»
URBACT project will be powered by the strong political dynamics
existing at the moment in the cross-border area. Exchanges of
innovative methods with the other partners of the
«EGTC» URBACT project will also be a source of new
ideas in favour of an efficient LAP in the Eurodistrict.
Other
documents:
- Eurodistrict
Strasbourg-Ortenau
"EGTC"
project Launch
conference, Strasbourg, 19 November 2008
- Website
Photos: CUS
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