In January 2022, the Summit of Greater Region Executives took stock at the midpoint in France’s presidency, particularly with respect to the industrial, digital and energy transitions, flood and drought risk prevention, food and promoting short supply chains, culture, youth, sport and tourism, healthcare and security.
According to a study by INSEE that has just been published, average GDP growth in the Grand Est Region is the second lowest among mainland France’s regions, after Burgundy- Franche-Comté: "In the region, per capita GDP totalled €28,300 in 2017, which was €1,200 lower than the average for provincial France. […] One explanation for this is the greater increase in the number of cross-border workers than of workers in employment.
On 28 January, the European Commission published the "criteria and guidance" aimed at supporting Member States in identifying and designating new protected areas, with an objective of legally protecting 30% of land in the EU by 2030. The added value of cross-border cooperation is highlighted in them.
In January 2020, the association Young Europeans France created the "European Cities Label" with the aim of promoting European democracy and bringing the European spirit alive in cities, towns and villages.
The French Ministry’s Delegation for the External Action of Territorial Authorities (DAECT) renewed in 2022 its programme to promote the expertise of territorial authorities, known as EXPE-CT. Among the recipients in January 2022, for the category "Europe/ Cross-Border Cooperation", is the Grand Est Region with the theme "multi-sectoral cross-border cooperation (governance, organisation, cooperation)".
Every three years, the Commission publishes a report on the economic, social, and territorial cohesion in the EU, presenting the progress and the EU's role as a driver for regional development. It analyses the evolution of cohesion in the EU according to a wide range of indicators, such as prosperity, employment, education levels, and accessibility and governance.
More than 30 years after the creation of the INTERREG programme, the European Commission has teamed up with some of the most renowned experts* in the field of ETC to produce the very first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) entirely dedicated to European Territorial Cooperation!
AEBR and the European Commission’s DG REGIO have released a series of publications aiming at raising awareness of cross-border cooperation. These showcase relevant information gained through the implementation of the b-solutions initiative, which AEBR has managed on behalf of DG REGIO for the past four years.
More than 120 people, including many elected representatives, came together remotely for the MOT’s first general assembly of the year on 9 February 2022. For Christian Dupessey, MOT’s President, Mayor of Annemasse and President of the Metropolitan Pole of the French Genevois: "our cross-border regions have been at the heart of the pandemic, which has brought about a new awareness that the MOT has greatly contributed to fostering".
The 3DS bill (standing for differentiation, decentralisation, deconcentration and simplification of local public action) was adopted in its final reading at the Assemblée Nationale and the Senate in France on 8-9 February. The MOT is delighted about the inclusion for the first time of a chapter devoted to cross-border cooperation in a piece of legislation.
The MOT took part in this conference organised within the framework of the French Partnership for Cities and Territories. It led one of its four workshops, on cross-border and European cooperation initiatives, and was able to get across the following message: sustainable development also needs to cross borders and requires cross-border cooperation.
On 25 January, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission signed a Joint Action Plan signed to enhance cooperation to support regions in the transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable and digital Europe.
With about 30% of the EU population living in internal border regions, the new DG REGIO publication contributes to the growing recognition of the importance of cross-border public transport services (CBPT) and their role in facilitating cross-border activities central to the development of border regions.
On 25 January, a videoconference brought together the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, the MOT’s President, Christian Dupessey, the AEBR’s President Karl-Heinz Lambertz, and CESCI’s Vice-President, Zsuzsanna Fejes.
The European Committee of the Regions invites the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation to submit their applications for the 2022 edition of the award "Building Europe across borders" – Award for EGTCs.
"This is unique in France – we are the first!” declared Jean-Jacques Lasserre, the President of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departmental Council, on 27 January, accompanied by the Deputy-General of Gipuzkoa, at a press conference held to launch an innovative project named "ideiak 2022".
The Occitanie Region, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the government of the Balearic Islands approved in Brussels on Thursday the creation of a Youth Parliament. An initiative of the Occitanie Region, and its Vice-President, Nadia Pellefigue, which holds the rotating presidency of the Euroregion until the end of the year. We may recall that 2022 is the "European Year of Youth".
On 19 January 2022, the European Commission published in the EU’s Official Journal the detail of Interreg programmes for the period 2021 to 2027.
A "web" is a new method for observing innovative sectors. It consists of a mode of visualisation of ecosystems through the representation of their players and the relationships that connect them, and is designed to be a "participatory and experimental tool".
The Delegation for the External Action of Local Authorities (DAECT) of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has launched several calls for projects – general, thematic and geographical – to support decentralised cooperation projects. They must be submitted between mid-March and mid-April.
Jean Peyrony, Director-General of the Transfrontier Operational Mission, spoke on the subject of innovation at this conference organised by the Think Tank Territoire (TTT), at the Senate, on 3 January 2022.
With the start of the 2022 marking the launch of France’s presidency of the European Union, it is an important time to champion the construction of a Europe that is closer to its citizens, a Europe of daily life, notably embodied by the cross-border territories, which contribute to cementing the European edifice.
After the AGUR(1), AGAPE(2) and the Saint-Omer AUD(3), the MOT has the pleasure of welcoming two new urban planning agencies into its network: the Besançon Centre Franche-Comté Urban Planning Agency (AUDAB) and the Atlantic-Pyrenees Urban Planning Agency (AUDAP).
At their joint municipal council meeting that took place on 1 December 2021, the cities of Strasbourg and Kehl signed a cooperation agreement aimed at stepping up their exchanges and working on new cross-border projects. This initiative encompasses the competences of the Strasbourg Eurometropolis, which is a signatory to the agreement, thus marking a recognition of involvement at the intermunicipal level in the cooperation between the cities and the construction of a cross-border conurbation.
At a time when the closure of borders highlights the issues relating to cross-border living areas and their cohesion, the provision of public services specific to these territories was the subject of a dedicated workshop at the FNAU’s last national conference.
