News

MOT

Study on the Greater Region's territorial development plan

At the request of Luxembourg's Ministry for Sustainable Development and Infrastructures, acting on behalf of the different bodies of the Greater Region's Summit, a consortium led by the North Lorraine urban planning agency (AGAPE) in collaboration with the MOT, the urban planning agencies of Metz (AGURAM) and Nancy (ADUAN), and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, carried out an assignment to assist with the drawing-up of the Greater Region's territorial development plan.

NATIONAL LEVEL

The Territorial Observatory's 2016 Report

The Territorial Observatory's 2016 Report on the topic "Employment and Territories" has just been published by the General Commission for Territorial Equality (CGET).

TERRITORIES

Signature of the "Greater Geneva Territorial Project 2016-2030"

Nearly 200 people gathered on 8 December 2016 in Geneva for the signature of the "Greater Geneva Territorial Project 2016-2030", a third generation conurbation project: "We want to move from a financial rationale to a common political vision. We want to make Greater Geneva a collective, shared project that is led by the territory's citizens and stakeholders. We want to work towards the concrete and effective realisation of projects."

EUROPE

ESPON seminar: "Where are European cities heading? Evidence for better policy-making"

A seminar organised by the ESPON programme and the Slovak presidency of the EU Council was held in Bratislava on 7-8 December 2016. Its objective was to promote the use of ESPON's findings and tools in decision-making processes, and to discuss future issues for European territories.

EUROPE

The EU proposes a revision of the rules on the provision of unemployment benefits between Member States

On 13 December in Strasbourg, the European Commission presented a revision of the European rules on the provision of unemployment benefits for cross-border workers and also for job-seekers in another Member State, in order to facilitate labour mobility.

PUBLICATION

The Atlas of Borders: Walls, Conflicts, Migrations

"There are borders that can be easily crossed and others that are impassable; there are visible borders and invisible borders; there are political, economic and cultural borders… This first atlas devoted to borders helps us to better understand the issues that are concealed behind the lines that separate or link peoples."

TERRITORIES

5th Franco-Luxembourg intergovernmental commission (IGC)

The 5th Franco-Luxembourg intergovernmental commission (IGC) for the strengthening of cross-border cooperation was held on 21 November 2016 in Luxembourg, in the presence of Harlem Désir, Secretary of State for European Affairs (FR), and Corinne Cahen, Minister for the Greater Region (LU).

PUBLICATION

"Un territoire, une rivière"*, a French-Swiss publication

The Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum commissioned an original piece of work from Thomas Brasey as part of his thematic cycle entitled "Le Doubs Miroir" ("The Doubs Mirror") in order for him to train his photographer's eye on the cross-border territory between Saint-Ursanne in the Swiss Jura and Saint-Hippolyte in Franche-Comté, two municipalities linked by the river Doubs.

NATIONAL LEVEL

Editorial from Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development (France)

After several decades of innovative projects undertaken between neighbouring countries, cross-border territories have become shared living spaces, and places for discovering a “European citizenship” experienced in daily life.

NATIONAL LEVEL

The White Paper "Diplomacy and Territories" of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "A genuine strategy for cross-border cooperation"

The members of the CNCD (National Commission for Decentralized Cooperation) approved on 23 November 2016 a White Paper entitled “Diplomatie et territoires" (Diplomacy and Territories) proposed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.

EUROPE

Call for proposals for facilitating transport connections in Europe

Within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility, the European Commission has launched three calls for proposals concerning the implementation of large European transport networks, amounting to 1.9 billion euros. One of the main goals of these projects focuses on interoperability and the reduction of “missing links” in infrastructure, at a cross-border scale.

MOT

MOT Network Day

The president of the MOT, Michel Delebarre, welcomed members of the MOT network on 16 November on the invitation of the Ministry of Overseas France in Paris for two meetings: the Advisory Committee meeting, where activities were presented and the reports made on the functioning of the MOT; and the Technicians’ Platform meeting, which was the occasion for interactive exchanges with members.

EUROPE

ITEM Conference in the Netherlands

ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility at Dutch borders) held its annual conference on 28 October 2016 in Maastricht, on the topic “Europe under pressure: effects for border regions – 25 years after the Maastricht Treaty”. The ITEM annual report, which analyses each year the impact of legislation on the border territories of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, was presented and discussed.

TERRITORIES

Creation of a cross-border chamber of commerce

The directors of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Perpignan, Girona, Lleida and Andorra have officially launched the cross-border Chamber of Commerce and Industry “Pirineus Med”: a new body which aims to develop exchanges and cross-border knowledge, and whose goal is to “establish trade relations in the cross-border territory”.

TERRITORIES

The Working Community of the Pyrenees, at the heart of the development strategy for the Pyrenean massif

The Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) brings together the French and Spanish border regions, and Andorra. Its main objective is to contribute to harmonious and coordinated development of the Pyrenean massif.

PUBLICATION

Atlas of Greater Geneva: taking stock for sustainable progress

The work of 174 pages offers an environmental, social and economic inventory of the cross-border territory of Greater Geneva on the French-Swiss border.

TERRITORIES

Seminar: "The Grand Est region and its neighbours"

Close to 300 people gathered in Strasbourg for a major seminar on the cross-border relations of the new “Grand Est” region of France.

TERRITORIES

"Skills Without Borders"project launch

The project “Compétences sans Frontières” (Skills without Borders) was launched on 1 October 2016. Its goal is to contribute to reducing the imbalance of supply and demand in the job market of the France-Wallonia-Flanders cross-border region.

PUBLICATION

A European Parliament study on territorial cooperation programmes

A study by the European Parliament analyses the territorial cooperation programmes for the 2014-2020 period.

EUROPE

Meetings in Brussels on "obstacles to cross-border cooperation"

The MOT took part in two important European meetings at the end of September in Brussels: the third meeting of the experts' group of the European Commission's "Cross-Border Review", and the second meeting of the "Intergovernmental working group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles".

The MOT's workshops : "Cross-border investments" and "Rural areas"

During the European Week of Regions and Cities, the MOT organised two workshops: the first on cross-border investment and the second on rural areas.

NATIONAL LEVEL

Cross-border cooperation in Germany's territorial development policy

With the recent approval by both the German Länder and the federal level of its "Guiding Principles", Germany is emphasising cross-border cooperation in its territorial development policy.

EUROPE

Editorial from Dr. Katharina Erdmenger, Head of Division, Deputy Director, European Territorial Cohesion Policy, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Germany

New "Guiding Principles" for Germany's territorial development were adopted in March 2016, which are in line with the idea that "Germany is not an island".

EUROPE

"MORO" – pilot projects devoted to cross-border cooperation in Germany

Several spatial planning pilot projects (MORO), such as the one that led to the setting-up of the IMeG,* incorporating border region and cross-border considerations have been launched in Germany.

TERRITORIES

Annual conference of the Interreg ALCOTRA programme

On 6 October 2016, the annual meeting of the Interreg VA ALCOTRA programme brought together more than 400 participants in Chamonix.