"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."
The 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.
2015 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".
According to a study by the INSEE published in February 2015, the number of French people living in France but working abroad has increased by 42% since 1999. The study analyses the different causes and characteristics of the resulting flows.
Etienne Blanc, MP for the Ain Department and first Vice-President of the French Geneva area Regional Cooperation Assembly (ARC), submitted an amendment to the "NOTRe" draft legislation (in France) to enable border metropolitan conurbations of member countries of the Council of Europe, such as the Swiss Confederation, to participate in a Euroregional Cooperation Grouping (EGC).
This study focuses on various effects of international borders on local public transport: How does it impact demand, service offer as well as framework conditions?
The Canton of Geneva and the Ain and Haute-Savoie Departments are going to cooperate in order to better identify "false Swiss residents", who are responsible for a shortfall of nearly €40 million on the French side. It's the first time that the Canton of Geneva is going to provide this type of information to the French authorities.
On 10 December 2014, the conference entitled "What solutions for cross-border healthcare?" took place at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris. Organised by the Assemblée Nationale's "Border Regions and Workers" study group, with support from the MOT, this conference brought together cross-border healthcare experts and elected representatives from all of France's border areas.
This year of 2014 has been a difficult one for "Greater Geneva".
The CESCI, the MOT and INFH co-organised the 2nd European Seminar on cross-border territorial observation on 30 September 2014 at the Institut français de Budapest in Hungary.
The French-Swiss cross-border Employment Forum took place on 18 and 19 September 2014 in Annemasse.
The cross-border statistical observatory for the France-Geneva area has published an analysis of the housing stock and construction on both sides of the border, counting nearly 70,000 additional housing units in 11 years in this cross-border area.
The aim of this guide is to present in a user-friendly manner different services that operate in the French-German context, mainly located in the Upper Rhine region.
The 30th Congress of the European Cross-Border Grouping (Groupement transfrontalier européen – GTE) was held in Annemasse on 30 April, bringing together nearly 1,000 French-Swiss cross-border workers. With 36,000 members, the GTE renewed its confidence in its Chairman Michel Charrat.
With its international borders with Switzerland and Italy, the department of Haute-Savoie, which has been a member of the MOT since 2012, cooperates with the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais, as well as the Val d’Aoste autonomous region, in areas such as transport, territorial development, tourism, education, culture and sport.
The Geneva Games were started in 1940 to enable Swiss sportsmen and -women to take part in international level competitions in spite of the war.
Author: Markus Rieder, Ph.D. (public administration); February 2014, 418p, €65. Published in French.
The Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum is an independent grassroots movement that was founded on 23 January 2007 in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland.
The MOT produced a guidebook entitled “The legal framework for cross-border cooperation. The legal instruments available to cross-border projects” which is aimed at helping cooperation practitioners to choose the legal form that is most appropriate for their needs. The document is available in six languages: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch.
Implementation of a cross-border strategy for the future of the Mont Blanc mountain range took a step forward on 22 January 2014 with the signature of a statement of intent regarding the setting-up of a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation by the three vice-chairmen of the Mont Blanc Cross-Border Conference.
By endorsing the UDC’s initiative “against mass immigration” on 8 February, the Swiss voted for the introduction of annual quotas for workers, whether from across the border or people that have been granted asylum, thus going against the recommendations of the Federal Council.
In 2013, the MOT conducted a large-scale study aimed at defining the priority areas for the development of the French-Swiss Jura Arc. This cross-border territory encompasses the Franche-Comté Region and the Swiss cantons of Bern, the Jura, Neuchâtel and Vaud.
Michel Charrat, Chairman of the Groupement transfrontalier européen (GTE, European Cross-Border Grouping), an association that defends the rights of cross-border workers along the French-Swiss border, replies to our questions.
The MOT organized five information seminars in September and October 2013 on operational arrangements for cross-border projects on French borders. Each seminar covered one or two of the French borders. Consult the documentation.
The MOT produced a map summarising the main cross-border agreements, structures and programmes on French borders.
