"One of the main features of the French department of the Ardennes is without doubt its proximity to Belgium. This proximity is geographical, of course, but also cultural, historical, economic and societal.
In May 2019, Ardenne Métropole and the Belgian association of municipalities Idelux embarked on the drawing-up of a “Strategic plan for the development of the cross-border territory of the Franco-Belgian Ardennes”.
In 2015, more than 360,000 inhabitants of border areas in France worked in a neighbouring country, near to the border. The economic dynamism of neighbouring countries such as Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco, together with the salaries offered, have encouraged working-age people living in France’s border areas to go and work there.
With the support of the MOT, Lille, Strasbourg and Nice are the three French border region metropolises that have embarked on drawing up a "Schéma de cooperation transfrontalière" (Cross-Border Cooperation Strategie, CCS), introduced by the Maptam Act* in 2014. Through its network, the MOT enables the three metropolises to share experiences and information regarding their methodologies, the obstacles encountered and the local political contexts, as well as to relay their needs to the national and European authorities.
On 2 May 2019, the Lille European Metropolis and the Brussels-Capital Region signed a cooperation agreement in order to reinforce exchanges between the two metropolises, on topics such as accessibility, spatial planning, attractiveness, tourism and culture.
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.
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 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.
At the 16th Greater Region Summit on 30 January 2019, the Greater Region Executives argued for "ambitious territorial cooperation and a Europe that listens to its citizens".
"Belgium is often perceived to be an attractive country for highly-skilled expatriates […]. But the Franco-Belgian border is also an area where migrations by households belonging to the middle classes have become more frequent and more commonplace, as a result of changes in property and labour markets."
Created by the common desire of the presidents of eight Public Entities of Intermunicipal Cooperation, the new “North Lorraine Border Region Metropolitan Pole” was launched on 9 January 2019 in Thionville.
On the occasion of the European Conference on the Energy Transition, which is taking place in Dunkirk on 22-24 January 2019, the MOT is publishing a new edition of its thematic Guides, on the energy transition and cross-border cooperation.
In December, the Grand Est Region published a brochure setting out its strategic orientations in the area of cross-border cooperation.
After two years of co-construction, the elected representatives of the Grand Est Region presented the major elements of the Region’s SRADDET at an event in Metz on 30 November 2018.
On 11 December 2018 in Brussels, a declaration of intent regarding the development of closer cooperation between France and the countries of the Benelux Union (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) was signed.
On 7 December 2018 in Metz, the EURES Resource and Documentation Centre/Grand Est Cross-Border Workers hosted the annual seminar of EURES advisers in the Greater Region.
A seminar on the fair distribution of taxes and social security contributions in cross-border areas was held on 25 October in Geneva by the FEDRE Foundation and the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
The MOT, and the Jacques Delors Institute have in a 50-page document compiled a summary of the five cross-border citizen consultations that they held with local partners.
On the occasion of the French president Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Belgium on 18 and 19 November, a declaration of intent on strengthening cooperation in matters of cross-border mobility and transport was signed by the two countries:
Citizens turned out for the citizens’ consultation held on 27 October by the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis, the MOT and the Jacques Delors Institute. This was a thoroughly European story.
This new platform of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis is aimed at developers of cross-border projects who wish to raise their profile, to find partners on the other side of the border, or who require assistance in implementing their project.
An enhanced cooperation agreement between Wallonia and the Hauts-de-France Region was signed on 15 September. It covers territorial development, mobility and jobs and reaffirms the desire to complete the planned linking up of the Seine-Escaut Canal on the Belgian side and the Seine-Nord Europe Canal on the French side.
The French prime minister has entrusted the Prefect of the Grand Est region with a mission relating to the institutional solutions available to give form to the “longing for Alsace”.
On 11 July 2018 in Châlons-en-Champagne in France, a meeting of the Grand Est Regional Administration Committee (CAR) was held: a veritable ‘board meeting’ of the State in the region, bringing together every two months the prefects of the region and the départements, and all of the decentralised services of the State.
More than 100 people gathered on 12 June 2018 in the ancient Vaucelles Abbey (Cambrésis, Nord) for the first Departmental Meeting on Cross-Border Cooperation organised by the Nord Department.
