Stalled for three years in the Council, the legislative proposal for a "mechanism to remove legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context", initiated by the European Commission, has now been relaunched. The Parliament asks the Commission to present a revised legislative proposal. The Commission has three months to respond.
The draft opinion of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the European Cross-Border Mechanism 2.0 (rapporteur Magali Altounian) was unanimously adopted by the COTER Commission on June 23rd, 2023, with a view to final adoption in October 2023.
Cross-border obstacles affect the daily development of cross-border living areas and services dedicated to their inhabitants. The reduction of these obstacles requires a high degree of cooperation between Member States. That is why, in 2018, the European Commission proposed a tool, the "European Cross-Border Mechanism" (ECBM), dedicated to the resolution of cross-border legal and administrative obstacles. But the Commission's proposal for a regulation on this tool is currently stalled at the Council.
The conference "Living in Border Regions - Tackling the challenges" was organized on April 17th, 2023, in Brussels, by the European Alliance for Cross-Border Citizens (CoR, MOT, AEBR, CESCI). Its objective was to study the possible ways to relaunch the draft regulation on the "European Cross-Border Mechanism" (ECBM).
The Treaty of Aachen mandated the Franco-German Cross-Border Cooperation Committee (CBC) to analyse the impact of legislation on border regions, with the aim of avoiding "the emergence of new legal difficulties in everyday cross-border life".
In the framework of the "b-solutions initiative", AEBR is collecting cases of cross-border obstacles.
At the end of 2022, the Commission published its report "Cross-border public services: CPS inventory analysis and policy recommendations".
The 12th Platform of EGTCs of the European Committee of the Regions was organised on the 24th and 25th of November 2022, within the framework of the Czech Presidency of the EU, in Liberec (CZ) close to the triple border point between Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.
A new element of this call is that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with immediate implementation. Deadline to apply is 28 February 2023.
Impact analyses, provided for in the Franco-German Treaty of Aachen and carried out when new standards are drawn up, could make it possible to avoid future obstacles to cross-border cooperation and the complexities of everyday life for the inhabitants of border areas.
On 15 September 2022, the European Parliament approved the resolution "EU border regions: living labs of European integration" prepared by the chair of the regional development committee Younous Omarjee (France).
Following the modification of the French sports code (article L231-2-1) by the 3DS law of February 21st 2022, sportsmen and women residing abroad, and in particular in a country bordering France, no longer need to present a medical certificate when registering for a sports competition organised partly in a French border department.
Summary of the conference held on 24-25 May by CESCI, in partnership with the MOT and the French Institute in Budapest.
Between late April and early May, three important topics for cross-border territories were the subject of discussions for the network’s working groups: the impact of cross-border projects on the environment; the issue of social security with respect to cross-border employment; and the definition and recognition of “cross-border living areas”. Below is a preliminary summary of the discussions.
A new call for proposals in the framework of the "b-solutions 2.0: Solving Cross-Border Obstacles initiative" has just been launched.
After a preliminary study carried out in 2020,* the MOT has been commissioned by DG REGIO to conduct another study on the consequences of the pandemic and the impact of the measures taken by countries to combat it in cross-border territories**.
The Franco-German Cross-Border Cooperation Committee met on 12 March in Strasbourg, under the co-chairmanship of Clément Beaune (France), Minister of State for European Affairs, and Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate (Germany). The MOT officially took part in the meeting as a Committee "expert".
In January 2022, the Summit of Greater Region Executives took stock at the midpoint in France’s presidency, particularly with respect to the industrial, digital and energy transitions, flood and drought risk prevention, food and promoting short supply chains, culture, youth, sport and tourism, healthcare and security.
AEBR and the European Commission’s DG REGIO have released a series of publications aiming at raising awareness of cross-border cooperation. These showcase relevant information gained through the implementation of the b-solutions initiative, which AEBR has managed on behalf of DG REGIO for the past four years.
The 3DS bill (standing for differentiation, decentralisation, deconcentration and simplification of local public action) was adopted in its final reading at the Assemblée Nationale and the Senate in France on 8-9 February. The MOT is delighted about the inclusion for the first time of a chapter devoted to cross-border cooperation in a piece of legislation.
With about 30% of the EU population living in internal border regions, the new DG REGIO publication contributes to the growing recognition of the importance of cross-border public transport services (CBPT) and their role in facilitating cross-border activities central to the development of border regions.
Between June and September 2021, the MOT was commissioned by the Lille Metropolis Development and Urban Planning Agency (ADULM) to conduct an analysis of the consequences of the border restrictions in the territory of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis. The aim was to identify the issues highlighted and revealed by the crisis and the brakes on/levers for the development of the cross-border territory.
On 7 December in Brussels, the French Health Minister, Olivier Véran, and his Spanish counterpart, Carolina Darias, signed a declaration of intent concerning the cross-border hospital in Puigcerdá, which sets out the framework for cooperation with respect to healthcare professionals practising between the two countries.
Lack of accessibility by public transport remains a major obstacle to opening up isolated European border regions. It is on the basis of this observation that the European Commission launched in 2020 a comprehensive study to identify all existing services on European borders.
On the eve of France’s presidency of the EU, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, have signed in Rome a bilateral cooperation treaty, the “Quirinal Treaty”. Sixty years after the signature of the Franco-German Élysée Treaty, this “friendship pact” is historical and marks the desire, at the highest level of state, to advance Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation.
