In spite of its small surface area, the Grand Duchy continues to attract skills from all over Europe. A symbolic milestone was passed in 2018, when the number of commuters reached 100,000. This is the count of French cross-border workers who every day make the journey to this country located at the heart of European exchanges. This figure will rise to close to 150,000 over the next 15 years.
The cross-border territory of the “High Valleys” is located in the heart of the Alps, between Savoie, Piedmont and the High Alps. It consists of 13 groups of municipalities, 147 rural mountain districts and 270,753 inhabitants spread over 6,350 km2. A cross-border strategy "The High Valleys – Smart Destination" was drawn up in order to group together the common development priorities for the coming years.
Within the framework of the Interreg “Greater Region Territorial Development Plan” project, the Greater Region Executives Summit have laid the political groundwork for the drawing-up of a common cross-border territorial strategy for the Greater Region partners.
The Strasbourg Eurometropolis’s Development Council has conducted a survey of citizens on well-being across the whole of the cross-border metropolis. The survey is entitled “How are you?”.
At the end of 2017, 24,200 employees living in the Hauts-de-France Region worked abroad, principally in Belgium. They represent 1.6% of the region’s employees – five times less than in the Grand Est Region. Less favourable employment conditions, particularly with respect to tax, have now made Belgium less attractive than in the past.
The EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation "EaSI" (EURES axis) is launching a call for proposals regarding “Cross-border partnerships and support to cooperation on intra-EU mobility for EEA countries and social partners". The deadline is 6 June 2019.
Following the departure of Olivier Denert, the MOT was pleased to welcome on 15 April its new Secretary-General into the technical team: Aurélien Biscaut, former Director of the North Lorraine Urban Planning Agency (Agape).
The latest publication by the French Network of Urban Planning Agencies (FNAU), entitled "L'Europe par les territoires" (“Europe by its territories”) feeds into the debate about Europe and provides different views on the issues relating to cohesion policy and the way in which cities and territories have appropriated the European ideal and the tools of this policy. The MOT contributed to it and several cross-border territories are showcased in it.
The magazine "Intercommunalités" of the Assemblée des Communautés de France (AdCF – Assembly of France’s Communities) has published in its issue 238 an article written by the MOT: "Concevoir les services publics transfrontaliers" ("Designing cross-border public services").
On 7 July 2016 the MOT and Grenoble-Alpes University held at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris a policy forum entitled “Sécurité et développement: comment gérer la frontière ?”, within the framework of an international research project "Borders in Globalization" ("BIG"). The proceedings are now available (in French).
Since a study by DG REGIO on the topic in 2018, the importance of “Missing Railway Links” for cohesion policy and the development of border regions disadvantaged by a lack of rail infrastructure has been highlighted. In this context, the PAMINA Eurodistrict EGTC held a conference on 11 April in collaboration with the Committee of the Regions.
"In the run-up to the European elections, our work has taken on particular significance. The risk of a low turnout is encouraging us even more to continue our work of persuading our fellow citizens that they should make their voices heard regarding the kind of Europe they would like to see. The projects that were presented to us in Geneva and Annemasse, reflecting the progress in Franco-German cooperation, are exemplary. They show the way we are seeking to promote: a Europe made of concrete actions, at the service of its citizens; a Europe of territories."
Around Robert Herrmann, the MOT’s President and President of the Strasbourg Eurometropolis, the representatives of the French Government at the MOT’s general assembly emphasised the favourable political context for cross-border cooperation. According to Jacques Champagne de Labriolle, Ambassador for Cooperation and Border Issues at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the cross-border dimension is now “at the heart of the French Government’s concerns”.
The network’s bodies approved the 2018 activity and financial reports, the 2019 work programme and the joining of two new members: the Saint-Avold Synergy Conurbation Community and the French Mountaineering Clubs Federation.
On 20 March 2019, the Commission, the Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the revision of European rules regarding coordination of social security. From 2021 onwards, unemployed cross-border workers will have their benefit paid by the country where they have worked and no longer by the country they live in.
The two departments, which will soon be grouped together as the European territorial authority of Alsace, wish to step up cross-border cooperation with their German and Swiss neighbours straightaway. The "OR Strategy – Oberrhein/Rhin supérieur" that they have just presented formalises these reflections and expert assessments.
The European Commission has published its 2018 report on intra-EU labour mobility. Data concerning cross-border workers are set out on pages 77-80 of the report, which records 1.9 million cross-border workers in 2017 (including EFTA countries as countries of residence and work).
On 7 March 2019 in Esch-sur-Alzette, a city selected to be European Capital of Culture in 2022, an event was held to launch the Jean Monnet "CECCUT" project (European Capitals of Culture and Cross-Border Urban Cohesion).
The PAMINA Eurodistrict and the Karlsruhe TechnologieRegion have inaugurated a new web portal dedicated to cross-border mobility. With 300,000 consultations a day, it is one of the main online journey planning services.
Published following the European conference "Enhancing Healthcare Cooperation in Cross-Border Regions (CBHC)" that took place in December 2018 in Brussels, this 31-page document sets out 12 good practices that illustrate the value added and keys for success for cross-border cooperation in the area of healthcare.
The MOT held its general assembly and annual conference on 20-21 March 2019 in Annemasse and Geneva, bringing together 140 participants, at the invitation of Annemasse Agglo, the Metropolitan Pole of the French Genevois, the Greater Geneva LGCC and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. Around the meetings of the MOT’s bodies, a conference on cross-border investment and field visits were organised.
The Master in Border Studies is a two-year joint international study program, which addresses the complex economic, political, social and cultural issues of borders and of border regions in Europe and beyond. The Master provides students with the major concepts and analytical tools to understand the various challenges of border regions and cross-border cooperations.
Highly attentive to citizens’ concerns sparked by the four themes of the Great National Debate in the cross-border regions, where national issues sit alongside dynamics that transcend the border, the MOT wished to take part in this unprecedented exchange of views by contributing its concrete proposals.
The new Franco-German Assembly, set up in parallel with the Aachen Treaty, held its first session on 25 March in Paris. It will bring together at least twice a year 100 French and German parliamentarians in equal numbers, meeting in turn in France and Germany.
