The President of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine Region, Philippe Richert, and his first Vice-President, Patrick Weiten, have written to the French President of the Republic. They are asking for 'a strong signal' to be sent at the French-German council of ministers meeting on 7 April in Metz.
The publication "Systèmes Territoriaux Régionaux" ("Regional Territorial Systems") that was brought out in January 2016 by the French Federation of Public Urban Planning Agencies (the FNAU) provides an analysis of territorial issues and interrelationships in France, through the lens of legislative developments and the issues at stake in public policy. A section written by the MOT is devoted to the cross-border dimension.
In October 2015, the Greater Geneva local grouping of cross-border cooperation (LGCC) launched an initiative to draw up a territorial project for the whole of the French-Vaud-Geneva conurbation for the 2016-2030 period. This process of reflection will be completed at the end of this year. It involves the elected representatives of the region, both Swiss and French, and cross-border civil society organised through the Greater Geneva Conurbation Forum.
On 3 December 2015, Jacques Melly, the President of the Conseil d'Etat of the Canton of Valais, handed over the presidency of the Leman Council to Virginie Duby-Muller, Vice-President in charge of cooperation and cross-border affairs of the Haute-Savoie Conseil Départemental, who is also Vice-President of the MOT.
Following the regional elections and the reform which reduced the number of regions in mainland France from 22 to 13, the MOT has published a note (in French) on the new French regions and the territorial reform: what will be the impact on cross-border cooperation?.
At the instigation of the Midi-Pyrénées General Secretariat for Regional Affairs, a working seminar aimed at the decentralised government departments in the regions bordering Spain and Andorra was held on 25 November 2015 in Toulouse to discuss practices and consider new modes of organisation designed to remove the obstacles to French-Spanish-Andorran cooperation.
The Joint Secretariat of the Upper Rhine Conference and the journalist Reinhard Reck have produced a booklet to mark the 40th anniversary of the French-German-Swiss intergovernmental commission. The booklet presents the evolution, diversity and dynamism of cross-border cooperation in the Upper Rhine since the Bonn Agreement signed in 1975.
The topic of the conference was: “Territorial Reforms: what impact for cross-border cooperation?”
The seminar organised by the Council of Europe was an opportunity to examine cross-border cooperation activity organised around the work of the Basel Trinational Eurodistrict (ETB), the international architecture exhibition IBA Basel 2020 and the Basel Agglomeration programme.
On the occasion of the European Cooperation Day and a week after the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Interreg, the umbrella framework for Regional Policy's cross border cooperation programmes, the Commission has launched an EU-wide public consultation on the remaining obstacles to cross border cooperation.
Meeting in Luxembourg on 2 September 2015, the members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) called on the EU to step-up its efforts to strengthen cross-border cooperation. The discussions took place within the framework of the work currently being carried out under Luxembourg's presidency.
The New Territorial Organisation of the Republic Act (the "NOTRe Act") was promulgated on 7 August 2015 in France.
A French-German ministerial conference, attended by French secretary of state for European affairs Harlem Désir and his German counterpart Michael Roth, both general-secretaries for French-German cooperation, took place on 6 and 7 July in Metz.
More than 150 people, elected officials and stakeholders in cross-border territories, national and European representatives met in Chamonix on 17-18 June on the occasion of the MOT General Assembly to debate on the impact of territorial reforms on cross-border cooperation.
"The end of roaming – additional charges for telephone calls made and messages sent from abroad – is anticipated with impatience by all border residents,” declared Anne Sander, MEP and MOT vice-president, on the occasion of the launch meeting of a new parliamentary working group on border questions on 24 June at the European Parliament.
The MAPTAM (modernisation of territorial public action and affirmation of metropolitan areas) Act of 27 January 2014 has opened up new fields for the cross-border cooperation of large conurbations. Linked with the cohesion policy and the EGTC instrument in particular, it shows that the importance of metropolitan approaches in cross-border living and working areas is being taken into account.
With a view to its presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2015, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has placed the clearing of obstacles to cross-border cooperation at the centre of its priorities. A member of the MOT, the Grand-Duchy commissioned it to provide assistance, generating input for one of three technical seminars which took place on 19 May 2015 in Luxembourg City in preparation of its presidency. The MOT analysis is online.
The CHEMI (Centre for High-Level Studies of the Ministry of the Interior - France) publishes the proceedings of the discussions' day on the "cross-border prefect" organized on 20th June 2014, in partnership with the MOT.
The 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.
A 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.
On 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.
For the Lille European Metropolis, the proximity of the border constitutes an asset in terms of development and attractiveness.
"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 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.
