Conurbations 

Overall situation

The cross-border conurbation of Lille is on the crossroads of France, Walloon region and Belgian Flanders and stretches out a territory of almost two million inhabitants, what makes the first cross-border conurbation in the strict sense in Europe. Besides the size, important equipment works (Euralille, European north TGV crossroads) benefited to the conurbation at the beginning of 1990’s and puts it in the centre of a Paris-London-Brussels triangle, reinforcing its rank of European metropolis.

The particularity of this territory is based on its cross-border urban overlapping on a part of its territory and by the strong intensity of proximity flows of all kinds: cross-border workers, scholastic, trade practices, cultural, social and sanitary or simply family.


  Political organisation on both sides of the border

At the local level, the Lille Métropole Urban Community is an intermunicipal public entity gathering the city of Lille and 84 other municipalities. The main tasks of Lille Métropole are urban planning and living environment, public transports, economic development, water and houshold waste treatment .
At the intermediary level, Lille is situated in the department of Nord, which is competent for social, and health action,  road maintenance and equipment, education, culture tourism and environment.

On the Belgian side, the intercommunales are intermunicipal entities responsible for economic development, tourism, environment, mobility and planning. At the intermediary level, the Belgian provinces involved in the project (West Flanders and Hainaut) are competent for cultural infrastructures, social infrastructures and policies, environment, economy, transport and housing.

At the regional level, Lille Métropole is situated in the Nord-Pas-Calais 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 Belgian side, two of the three Regions (Flanders and Wallonia) are concerned by the cross-border project. They have several competences, among them land development, urban planning, public transport, agriculture, employment policy, environment, international relations, scientific research, energy and foreign trade.


  History of the cross-border co-operation in the area

Since 1991, the Franco-Belgian metropolitan project was covered by the Cross-border Standing Conference of Inter-municipal Organisations (COPIT). This common tool gathered Lille Metropolis Urban Community (1.1 million inhabitants) and four Belgian intermunicipal entities (700 000 inhabitants). In 2001, COPIT was structured into a voluntary association under French Law.

Since 2002, a global reflection had been launched to consider the evolution of COPIT to a cross-border structure of governance. It leaned on the work of a Franco-Belgian parliamentary group, which identified the legal brakes on the cross-border cooperation and produced ideas for solutions. One of the ideas was to eventually create a forum for political debate and for interface between different authorities bringing together all the necessary competence (it wouldn’t induce any transfer of competence). Thus, a concrete proposal for the creation of a Eurodistrict was adopted in June 2006.
In addition, the reality of the cross-border conurbation of Lille is officially recognized by the French State which included in 2005 the entire perimeter of the COPIT in the call for projects to establish metropolitan contracts. In addition to the border city of Lille, the metropolitan area includes the Pas de Calais coalfield (Lens, Douai), Valenciennes and Maubeuge.

At the technical level, COPIT was equipped of an operational structure, the Cross-border Workshop, which has developed the draft GROOTSTAD, cross-border scheme of planning and development, around themes including metropolization of the territory, mobility or put consistency in the local planning. The project led to the publication in 2002 of a Proposal of Strategy for a cross-border metropolis to turn the territory into a cross-border integrated metropolitan system with a common development strategy, and facilitate the emergence and the implementation of cross-border projects. In late 2007 it was decided to dissolve the COPIT due to the creation of the Eurométropole.

So far, even if numerous cross-border projects have been developed through bilateral or trilateral cooperations, the establishment of cross-border projects has encountered difficulties, including legal and institutional ones. The establishment in January 2008 of a new governance structure, the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai EGTC, should allow the outcome of cross-border projects of greater magnitude, in accordance with the strategic objectives set by the different actors.

Cross-border territorial cohesion policies

  Current cross-border governance in the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai

The current structure of governance of the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai was set up in late 2007 and the EGTC was officially created on 21 January 2008, date of the “Arrêté du Préfet de la Région Nord-Pas de Calais”. The constitutive meeting of the Assembly took place a few days later, on 28 January 2008. The Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai EGTC is a structure under French Law. The partners of the EGTC are now in the process of setting up the operational services and launching the first activities.

The priority tasks of the Eurometropole EGTC are :
- to ensure consultation, dialogue and to encourage political debate, bringing together all institutions
- to produce cross-border border consistency throughout the whole territory
- to facilitate, carry and realize projects reflecting the development strategy worked out in common
- to facilitate the day-to-day life of inhabitants of the Franco-Belgian metropolis

A short description of the organisation

The Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai EGTC is a formal structure and has its own statutes.

All the institutional levels in France and in Belgium are involved in this cross-border cooperation process. The EGTC joins the 14 stakeholders of the cross-border conurbation gathering all competencies:
- On the French side: the State, the Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the Département du Nord and Lille Métropole Communauté Urbaine.
- On the Belgian side: the federal State, the Flemish Region and Community, the Province of Western Flanders, the Leiedal intermunicipal association, the WVI intermunicipal association, the Walloon Region, the French Community of Belgium, the Province of Hainaut, the IDETA intermunicipal association, the IEG intermunicipal association.

A conference of Mayors and Burgomasters will also bring together all the mayors and burgomasters of the Eurométropole. Its purpose is to inform the Mayors and Burgomasters of the works and projects of the EGTC and enable discussion of them at the communal level.

There is moreover a wish to involve socio-economic actors but the way is not yet decided.

At the political level, the Assembly of Eurométropole elects the Desk, the president, the 3 vice-presidents, votes the annual budget and launches the recruitment of the technical team .
A technical working group, set up on the occasion of the first meeting of the Constitutive Committee of the Eurométropole EGTC and made up of representatives of the 14 partners, is still working and provide the interface with administrations.

The technical work of the Eurométropole will be ensured by a Cross-border agency, which is an administrative and technical tool. The recruitment of its director is still in progress.

A principle of double-parity applies to the functioning and composition of the organs: parity between the French and the Belgian sides, and parity between the Flemish and the Walloon sides for Belgium. French-Dutch bilinguism is also a key-element of the EGTC.

Apart from this institutional cooperation, there are a lot of cross-border projects led by other actors such as universities, chambers of commerce, NGOs, nature parks…


An overview of finance

Eurométropole EGTC is financed by its members (50% French; 50% Belgium).
For the years 2008 to 2010, the budget allowed for its activity is about 4 million euros, among 600.000 euros for different studies.


Cross-border communication

Eurométropole EGTC hasn’t already realized any cross-border communication strategy and doesn’t have any common logo. But this issue is included in the working programme for late 2008.


  Existing programme in favour of territorial cohesion

Projects

40 projects were identified by Lille Metropolis in its Cross-border urban area strategy in 2002. A good few of them have been realised, under way or at the study stage. Among them :

Communication
A cross-border television with 4 bilingual programmes (partners : C9 Télévision, WTV, No Télé, CRRAV, Chamber of Commerce of West-Vlaanderen, Franco-Belgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Public services
- Cooperation for a cross-border public cremation service (partners : IDETA, PSILON)
- Cross-border survey about the mobility of the households living on both sides of the border (partners: Walloon Region, intermunicipal association Leiedal) :
- Cross-border buslines

Culture and language
- Integration of the cross-border and Europe aspects in the Lille Metropole identity and culture through trainings and Dutch courses
- In 2004, Lille was designated “European Capital of Culture”. For the first time in the history of this honour, an entire "Euroregion" was lining up behind a key city (60% of Lille 2004 didn’t take place in Lille). Other French cities (Lens, Calais…) but also many Belgian towns (Kortrijk, Tournai, …) were involved in the project.

Employment
- Cross-border employment forum of the Eurometropole (partners : public organisations and employment authorities, chambers of commerce, employers’ associations, trade unions and businesses)

Water and environment
- Franco-Belgian effluent treatment plants (partners : Ipalle, Walloon Region, Flemish Region, Aquafin)
- Cross-border campaign for the prevention of waste (Miniwaste) (partners : asbl Espace Environment, IPALLE, Intersud, municipality of Lille)


The global framework

After a long-haul process of coordination, the different partners from both sides of the border, today active members of the cross-border project of governance Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai EGTC, are currently drafting the common 2008-2010 work programme. Their task is to develop concrete projects within the framework of the new EGTC and using the European funding opportunities allowed by the new operational programme Interreg IV 2007-2013.

The first projects would deal with daily issues such as the environment, economy and employment, transport and general public services as well as the development of a Eurométropole identity.

All theses projects will be developed through an improved governance system supported by en efficient technical tool, in order to feed the strategic document with concrete actions. For now, the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai is recruiting the general director who should guarantee the achievement of the objectives previously depicted.

  Added value of the «EGTC» URBACT Project

A general overview of the Local Action Plan and the URBACT Local Support Group

LMCU expects to discuss the implementation of EGTC regulation with other cross-border conurbations and thus elaborate recommendations for creation of EGTC elsewhere in Europe.
After the official creation in January 2008 of the first EGTC in Europe, it’s time to set up the operational organisation that will enable effective development of ambitious projects within a multi-level governance framework. It expects to identify how the EGTC structure could liven up the cross-border territory and run concrete projects, in particular by using Structural Funds. Furthermore, the different events/seminars organised in the framework of the «EGTC» URBACT project will give the opportunity of to exchange ideas and experience on key issues for the Eurométropole such as coordination between different scales of cross-border governance, between all relevant actors, public and private ones, involvement of socio-economic actors, technical issues such as recruitment of staff. The involvement of the Eurométropole in the URBACT project is of high relevance insofar as the 14 partners from both sides of the border are currently drafting the common 2008-2010 work programme.

Having experimented a long-haul process of cooperation resulting in the establishment of the first EGTC in Europe, LMCU will share its experience on legal structuring and on the added value of involving all public levels, including national and managing authorities.

The Local Action Plan will deal with the operational framework of the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk Tournai EGTC, mainly on the previously mentioned elements. 

To elaborate this Local Action Plan, Lille Métropole has decided to involve the technicians from the 14 partners of the Eurométropole – local, regional, national and managing authorities - in its ULSG. Having contributed since 2006 to the whole reflexion on the cross-border cooperation for the Eurométropole, including on the convention and the statutes of the EGTC, the involvement of these structures will guarantee a continuity of the reflexion.

Conclusion

After the official creation of the EGTC in January 2008, the 14 partners are in the process of defining its action plan and setting up the operational organisation that will enable effective development of ambitious projects within a multi-level governance framework. In terms of activities, the first priority is indeed to implement structuring projects for the Eurométropole, e.g. with the coordination or merging of equipments and services, and to involve the population in these projects. Communication activities will also be essential in 2008 and 2009 to make the EGTC known by the population, the media, other European metropolitan border areas and the European institutions.

Thus, the participation of Lille Metropolis to the «EGTC» URBACT project is a totally complementary of its work programme for the years 2008-2010. On one hand, because of its long-term experience in the structuring of cross-border governance, Lille Metropolis good practices will benefit to all the other partners of the project. On the other hand, the Eurométropole EGTC needs to achieve its operational organisation through concrete projects. Finally, the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, as the first registered EGTC in Europe, wants to be the precursor of cross-border integration in Europe.

Other documents:

- The Eurometropole : a territory with many assets

- Eurometropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai
"EGTC" project Launch conference, Strasbourg, 19 November 2008

- "Establishment of the first EGTC in Europe"
Cross-border news, No.38, February 2008