A major milestone for Europe's border regions: the BRIDGEforEU Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 19th, 2025. This text, actively supported in Parliament by Sandro Gozi MP, marks the culmination of more than ten years' work by the MOT, committed to removing the legal and administrative obstacles to cross-border cooperation.
The European Commission's Harvesting report on Interreg post-27 summarises one of the largest consultations organised on European territorial cooperation. More than 10,000 individuals and organisations took part, including more than 5,000 citizens from border areas.
The MOT has written an article in the latest edition of the "Stories of European cooperation" written by IVY volunteers and published by Interact: "Alcotraité: Strenghtening cross border cooperation and governance".
On March 27th and 28th, the Interreg GO! Event was held in Gorizia (Italy) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia), the first cross-border European capital of culture. The event, which also celebrated 35 years of Interreg, provided an opportunity to reflect on the future of cohesion policy post-2027, in a context marked by profound geopolitical and territorial upheaval.
Transport, housing, health, employment, governance: these are some of the key subjects addressed in the 55 concrete proposals aimed at ‘removing everyday obstacles’ and ‘strengthening cross-border dialogue’. In our exclusive interview with Brigitte Klinkert, MP for Haut-Rhin and author of the report, find out more about the concrete proposals on these key topics.
Following publication of the final report and blueprints for each pilot site in the ‘Building more resilient cross-border regions’ project run by the OECD and DG REGIO, the Nord Lorrain Metropolitan Border Pole gives us its views on the work carried out, its contributions and the specific needs of the territory which is one of the pilot sites.
Following publication of the final report and blueprints for each pilot site in the ‘Building more resilient cross-border regions’ project run by the OECD and DG REGIO, the Cerdagne cross-border hospital - one of the pilot sites - gives us its views on the work carried out, its contributions and the specific needs of the area.
Last month the European Commission published its ‘Handbook on Cross-border Energy Communities’. This document provides a broad overview of how to establish and manage cross-border energy initiatives while contributing to the energy transition and European cohesion objectives.
In collaboration with the European Commission, the OECD’s new report shows that well-designed and well-resourced cross-border governance bodies can help unlock the development potential of border regions.
Brigitte Klinkert, MP for Haut-Rhin, has been appointed by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee as rapporteur for a flash mission dedicated to "cross-border issues for metropolitan French citizens".
On December 16th, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the new BRIDGEforEU instrument aimed at removing administrative and legal obstacles in border regions, representing a major step forward for Europe's border territories!
At the 163rd plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, several opinions on the future of territorial cooperation, and more specifically on cross-border cooperation, were adopted. In particular, they propose doubling its funding!
The EU has launched the ACROSS Data Hub, offering harmonised geospatial data to boost public transport, healthcare, and cross-border governance in border regions.
More than 300 participants met on December 2nd and 3rd at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris for the Bor-ders Forum, organised under the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron by the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière.
With this manifesto, which complements the ‘Cross-border deal’ of the Borders Forum, the MOT and its network call for a change in the way actors look at spaces crossed by a border as genuine ‘cross-border living areas’: territories linked by functional interdependence and a wealth of historical, cultural and interpersonal links, with an awareness of belonging to a common territory and a desire for cross-border territorial cohesion.
The Franco-Italian border is often associated with difficulties and problems of various kinds, often making it difficult for genuine ‘cross-border living areas’ to emerge, as envisaged by the Quirinal Treaty. This is precisely the spirit in which the Alcotraité project's annual event was held in Turin on November 26th, to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Quirinal Treaty.
As part of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, the MOT took part in the ‘Art of Cooperation’ conference held in Budapest from November 13th to 15th. Dedicated to the future of European territorial cooperation, it was the occasion for the official launch of the ‘European cross-border platform’, an initiative of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and its partners CESCI, AEBR and the MOT, designed to bring together all those involved in cross-border cooperation at European level.
A study on the ‘border effect’ around Switzerland, conducted by the Geneva-based FEDRE (Foundation for the Economy and Sustainable Development of the Regions of Europe), sets out ten very concrete proposals in areas such as taxation, culture, health and mobility.
Isabelle Rauch, Member of Parliament for Moselle and regional councillor for the Grand Est region, stated in a press release from October 31st that she was working on a proposal for European legislation to ‘adapt public policies in border areas’. In it, she spoke of ‘appropriate and dedicated political action based on territorial differentiation’.
On October 21st, 2024, the Franco-German cross-border cooperation committee (CCC), responsible for analysing the impact of new legislation on border territories, adopted a resolution ‘containing recommendations on the analysis of the cross-border impact of national legislation’.
More than a hundred stakeholders from all over France gathered in Dunkirk and on the Franco-Belgian border on September 17th and 18th, 2024, for the MOT's general assembly, at the invitation of its members: the Dunkirk Urban Community (Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque), the Nord Department and the Flanders-Dunkirk Urban Planning Agency. The event was an opportunity to highlight the richness and uniqueness of cross-border cooperation on the Franco-Flemish coast, while reaffirming the importance of cooperation in the face of the common challenges faced by border territories!
"Easy Border" is a simple, user-friendly navigator that guides you to the right European Commission service for your cross-border needs. Whether you need help overcoming an obstacle or are looking for information, Easy Border has you covered. This intuitive tool supports individuals and both public and private organisations across the European Union, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.
The study on "Strengthening the resilience of EU border regions: Mapping risks & crisis management tools and identifying gaps" has just been published by the European Commission (DG REGIO and DG ECHO).
The POCTEFA program has launched a questionnaire for local residents to identify the border obstacles that affect their daily lives.
To influence the debate on the future of EU policies after 2027, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) organized a conference on May 14th in Croatia, in cooperation with the INTERACT program, to draw the attention of decision-makers to the new challenges facing regions and cities, and to discuss the role of European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) in helping to meet these challenges.
