TERRITORIES
First EGTC under German law
May 2015The first German EGTC, “Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alps Corridor”, with its registered office located in Mannheim, was approved on 24 April 2015 by the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg.
News
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NATIONAL LEVEL
Shared concerns about the dropping of bilingual classes
May 201559 MPs, members of the French parliament’s French-German friendship group, have reacted to the planned dropping of bilingual classes announced by the Ministry of Education as part of the middle school reform.
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NATIONAL LEVEL
Establishment of regional conferences on public investment
May 2015A circular signed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been sent to the regional prefects requiring them to set up regional conferences on public investment before the end of May.
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EUROPE
Interreg 25 years Project Slam: Call for proposal now open!
May 2015Who wants to be the most representative Interreg project (and programme) of the last 25 years of Interreg? The Call for proposals is launched (by 20 May 2015).
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EUROPE
"BORDER +" project: reinventing internal borders of Europe
May 2015The "BORDER +" ptoject proposes a participatory reflection on the future of the internal borders of EU. Following the former Schengen border, a unique exhibition created with the border inhabitants of 8 countries will travel from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea, reinforcing exchange and sharing visions about the future and the transformation of this regions of Central Europe.
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TERRITORIES
Editorial from Damien Castelain, President of the Lille European Metropolis, President of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis
April 2015On 1 January 2015, the Communauté Urbaine de Lille (Urban Community of Lille) became the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL – Lille European Metropolis). The MEL is one of only two cross-border metropolises to be recognised as such by law, alongside Strasbourg.
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TERRITORIES
The Lille European Metropolis's commitment to further cross-border cooperation
April 2015For the Lille European Metropolis, the proximity of the border constitutes an asset in terms of development and attractiveness.
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TERRITORIES
A unifying and citizen-based project for the Doubs Urban Conurbation
April 2015On the territory of the French-Swiss Jura Arc, the Doubs Urban Conurbation (Agglomération Urbaine du Doubs – AUD) has launched a cross-border intercultural and intergenerational project aimed at involving the populations and civil society of the French and Swiss municipalities that make it up: Morteau (F), Villers-le-Lac (F), Les Fins (F), La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), Le Locle (CH) and Les Brenets (CH).
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NATIONAL LEVEL
Launch of European programmes
April 2015Along France's borders, several INTERREG VA programmes have launched their first calls for projects or are organising their launch events soon.
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TERRITORIES
Hollande speaks out for Greater Geneva
April 2015"France and Switzerland declared their mutual friendship on 15th April 2015, without hiding the frictions between the two countries. François Hollande expressed his concern about national preference with regard to employment. […] During his State visit to Bern, the French president, François Hollande, stated before the seven federal councillors that he was making Greater Geneva a priority issue."
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MOT
Discussion day with the SGARs
April 2015On 9 April 2015 the General Commission for Territorial Equality and the MOT held a day of discussions with the SGAR* research reference people.
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NATIONAL LEVEL
"Qu'est-ce qu'une frontière aujourd'hui ?"
April 2015"Today, the importance of borders in people’s lives is more than theoretical. Borders unite and divide they have become mobile and individualized, letting some move around freely and restricting access to others."
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TERRITORIES
Call for projects from the Aquitaine-Euskadi Euroregion
Avril 2015The Aquitaine-Euskadi Euroregion has launched a thematic call for projects in the areas of "Culture, Education, Multilingualism, Sport and Youth".
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EUROPE
Energy: Europe in networks
April 2015Some months ahead of the next COP 21, Michel Derdevet, Secretary General of Électricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF), has published in Documentation française a report for François Hollande entitled "Energy, Europe in networks: twelve proposals for a common energy infrastructure policy".
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TERRITORIES
French-German tax agreement
April 2015The French-German Council of Ministers, which met on 31 March 2015 in Berlin, adopted an amendment to the tax agreement between the two countries.
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MOT
Meeting with George Pau-Langevin, Overseas Minister
April 2015The MOT's President, Michel Delebarre, met the Overseas Minister, George Pau-Langevin, on 31 March 2015 in Paris, in order to discuss the need to establish a permanent connection between "cross-border territorial issues" and "overseas regions".
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TERRITORIES
"Alsace 2030"
April 2015The Alsace Region has just published "Alsace 2030 – a project for the whole of Alsace", the fruit of work carried out during 2014 at the Region's instigation, in a process of broad consultation with all of the territory's active stakeholders.
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TERRITORIES
Editorial from Jean Rottner, Mayor of Mulhouse, President of the FNAU: The EuroAirport, a French-Swiss success story
March 2015The world’s only binational airport, located in the French-German-Swiss region, the Basel-Mulhouse EuroAirport is an example in terms of cross-border cooperation.
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TERRITORIES
Mulhouse and Switzerland: 500 years of history in common
March 20152015 marks the 500th anniversary of the alliance between Mulhouse and the Swiss Confederation. An occasion to throw light on the strength of the historical links as the roots of today’s cross-border cooperation and to celebrate the event by making 2015 "The year of Switzerland in Mulhouse".
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TERRITORIES
KiosK office: opening of the first cross-border co-working space in Europe
March 2015Starting in January 2015, business creation consultancy cooperative START HOP welcomes French-German entrepreneurs to its convivial “KiosK office” spaces at locations in Strasbourg and Offenburg, helping them to develop their market with a 360° view.
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MOT
Luxembourg presidency of the EU Council: Identifying the obstacles to cooperation
March 2015The MOT network is mobilised under EU Luxembourg's presidency (2nd half of 2015) to identify the obstacles to cross-border cooperation. In this context, a workshop "The need for specific legal provisions to boost cross-border cooperation" is organised by the Presidency on 19th May 2015.
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EUROPE
Launch of the first call for projects for URBACT III
March 2015Attended by European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu, the URBACT III programme launch seminar took place on 16 March in Brussels.
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TERRITORIES
Inauguration of the first French-Spanish high-voltage line
March 2015On 20 February 2015 at Montesquieu-des-Albères in the eastern Pyrenees, French prime minister Manuel Valls and Spanish head of government Mariano Rajoy inaugurated the new high-voltage electricity interconnection line between the two countries.
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NATIONAL LEVEL
The ACTS initiative of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
March 2015This Sahel cross-border cooperation support project of the priority solidarity fund financed by France aims to set up an integrated management strategy for the border areas between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, through coordinated instruments in the areas of security and development aid.
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TERRITORIES
A Moselle strategy in response to Saarland
March 2015In response to the “France Strategy” presented in January 2014 by Saarland, aiming to make the border region a multilingual space by 2043, on 12 February in Forbach Patrick Weiten, leader of the Moselle department council, referred to the department’s “Moselle strategy”, with the opening in June of an “open house of services for Germany” (Mosa).
