As set out on 22 January 2016 by Patrick Weiten, president of the Moselle Conseil Départemental and first vice-president of the Alsace Champagne-Ardenne Lorraine Region responsible for territorial and cross-border cooperation, the Trilingua scheme aimed at promoting the learning of German in Moselle is being replaced by two new experiments in this regard.
The first European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) to be set up by an alliance of universities is located in the Upper Rhine area.
A new section on the MOT's website lists more than 130 operational studies that have been produced by the MOT since it was set up in 1997.
Since 1 January 2016, pensioners in French and German border regions who previously worked in the other country no longer run the risk of being taxed twice.
Doctoral thesis in geography by Nicolas Escach, under the supervision of Lydia Coudroy from Lille and Boris Grésillon, defended in 2014 at the École normale supérieure in Lyons. Published in French – Abstract in English.
From 26 to 28 January 2016 in Marseilles, the Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region and the Villa Méditerranée jointly organised, together with lecturers and students from different universities, the fourth edition of the " Trans/frontières et dialogue des disciplines" ("Cross/boundaries and dialogue between disciplines") on the topic "The age of transitions to another generation of players?".
The "Grex" platform was set up on 4 January 2016 in order to provide operational support to any sole trader or SME wishing to develop an economic partnership in the Greater Region.
Since September 2015, DG REGIO's cross-border cooperation unit has been carrying out a large-scale initiative known as the "Cross-Border Review" aimed at analysing the administrative and legal obstacles that persist along the European Union's internal borders.
Since it was set up in 1997, the MOT has developed operational and legal expertise on many cross-border topics. Network members have first call on this experience. In 2011, the MOT introduced the "service vouchers", which enable every member along France's borders to benefit from one day of work per year from the MOT's technical team. It is now making available in the members' space on its website the technical notes produced in this context [in French only].
In October 2015, the Greater Geneva local grouping of cross-border cooperation (LGCC) launched an initiative to draw up a territorial project for the whole of the French-Vaud-Geneva conurbation for the 2016-2030 period. This process of reflection will be completed at the end of this year. It involves the elected representatives of the region, both Swiss and French, and cross-border civil society organised through the Greater Geneva Conurbation Forum.
At the end of 2015, the European Cross-Border Grouping (Groupement Transfrontalier Européen, GTE) was alerted by Switzerland's temping agencies regarding the difficulties they are encountering in hiring French unemployed people as temporary workers.
On 3 December 2015, Jacques Melly, the President of the Conseil d'Etat of the Canton of Valais, handed over the presidency of the Leman Council to Virginie Duby-Muller, Vice-President in charge of cooperation and cross-border affairs of the Haute-Savoie Conseil Départemental, who is also Vice-President of the MOT.
Following Sweden's decision to introduce on 4 January 2016 systematic checks on all people coming from Denmark in order to better control the influx of refugees, the 15,000 cross-border workers who every day travel by public transport between the two countries across the famous Öresund Bridge, a symbol of the two countries' long-standing and extensive cross-border integration, are facing long queues on a daily basis.
Following the regional elections and the reform which reduced the number of regions in mainland France from 22 to 13, the MOT has published a note (in French) on the new French regions and the territorial reform: what will be the impact on cross-border cooperation?.
Luxembourg's presidency of the EU Council has given high priority to cross-border cooperation.
The Pas-de-Calais Department has solid relations with its British neighbours, which have resulted in many projects and the signature of a cooperation agreement with the County of Kent.
A seminar entitled "A world without borders - Refugees, cooperation and territories" was held within the framework of the ESPON 2020 programme, in cooperation with the Luxembourg presidency of the EU Council, on 8-9 December 2015 in Luxembourg.
At the instigation of the Midi-Pyrénées General Secretariat for Regional Affairs, a working seminar aimed at the decentralised government departments in the regions bordering Spain and Andorra was held on 25 November 2015 in Toulouse to discuss practices and consider new modes of organisation designed to remove the obstacles to French-Spanish-Andorran cooperation.
The Joint Secretariat of the Upper Rhine Conference and the journalist Reinhard Reck have produced a booklet to mark the 40th anniversary of the French-German-Swiss intergovernmental commission. The booklet presents the evolution, diversity and dynamism of cross-border cooperation in the Upper Rhine since the Bonn Agreement signed in 1975.
After a workshop on EGTCs and territorial cooperation in association with the EGTC Platform of the Committee of the Regions on 12th November 2015 in Brussels, a conference was held the following day on “The Future of Cross-Border Cooperation in Europe”. It was jointly organised by the AEBR, DG REGIO, the Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
The topic of the conference was: “Territorial Reforms: what impact for cross-border cooperation?”
The Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (Museum of Immigration History) in Paris is curating an exhibition focusing on borders, from 10th November 2015 to 29th May 2016. From works of art to maps, contemporary photographs and migrants’ own accounts, this unique exhibition sheds light on the role of borders around the world and contemporary issues surrounding them.
On 18th November, members of the MOT network gathered at the CGET (General Commission for Territorial Equality) in Saint-Denis, for a meeting of the Technicians’ Platform and the Advisory Committee of the MOT.The Technicians’ Platform looked at plans to put in place during 2016 an online forum for exchanges between members of the network.
