EUROPE
"B-solutions": ten projects selected
July 2018Ten projects have been selected within the framework of the "b-solutions" call for projects launched by DG REGIO on the theme of overcoming cross-border obstacles.
News
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EUROPE
A study by the European Commission on "missing cross-border rail links"
July 2018The European Commission has published a report on the existing rail transport connections and the "missing links" on the EU's internal borders. It provides a comprehensive inventory of the 365 cross-border rail links which are underexploited or not exploited at all. In total, there are 176 missing rail links and, after consultation of the stakeholders and competent authorities, 48 of them – 9 of which are located along France's borders – were assessed as "potentially beneficial projects".
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EUROPE
Draft regulations for cohesion policy in 2021-2027
June 2018On 29 May, the European Commission published its draft regulations for cohesion policy in the 2021-2027 period.
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EUROPE
The European cross-border mechanism – a victory for the MOT and its partners
June 2018Among the European Commission's draft regulations is a new regulation on "a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context". The regulation is based on the work over the past three years carried out by Luxembourg and France, with support from the MOT.
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NATIONAL LEVEL
Franco-German cross-border cooperation: "Six proposals to innovate in the heart of Europe" - A parliamentary working group set up
June 2018The report by the MP of the Bas-Rhin Department, Sylvain Waserman, was officially submitted to the French Prime Minister on 18 May. It sets out six proposals aimed at promoting a "renewal" of Franco-German cross-border cooperation, in the perspective of the forthcoming new Elysée Treaty.
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PUBLICATION
Exploring cross-border integration in Europe: How do populations cross borders and perceive their neighbours?"
May 2018"Since its creation, the European Union seems to be guided by the idea that an increase in cross-border flows contributes to more European unity. […] In a context characterized by the rise of Euroscepticism, it seems crucial to take a more critical look at actual cross-border integration and to unravel its concrete consequences for the people who live in border regions."
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PUBLICATION
"Reinventing Franco-Walloon cross-border public action"
May 2018The MOT contributed to this publication* produced by the Institut Destrée et Acadie, following a series of Franco-Walloon cross-border seminars entitled "Territoires en trans– : mythologies, réalités et dispositifs" ("Trans- territories: mythologies, realities and mechanisms"). This document (available in French only) provides an in-depth analysis of cooperation between France and Wallonia.
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FRANCE
France: a mission on Franco-German cooperation
April 2018A mission on deepening Franco-German cross-border cooperation, under the aegis of the Minister in charge of European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, has just been entrusted to the MP for the Bas-Rhin Department, Sylvain Waserman. The aim is to think about how renewing the Elysée Treaty would help to further develop Franco-German cross-border cooperation. A questionnaire for citizens is open until 30 April.
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MOT
Towards a new European legal tool: the ECBC
March 2018The intergovernmental working group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles met for the sixth time on 6 February 2018. It is working on the proposal for a new European tool dedicated to cross-border cooperation: the European Cross-Border Convention (ECBC).
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EUROPE
DG REGIO: Call for proposals on cross-border obstacles
February 2018"b-solutions" is an initiative to tackle legal and administrative border obstacles/difficulties along EU internal borders promoted by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), as one of the actions proposed in the referred Communication "Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions", adopted by the Commission on 20 September 2017.
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EUROPE
Launch of the "Boosting EU Border Regions" platform
February 2018The European Commission has launched its new online platform "Boosting EU border regions" dedicated to cross-border stakeholders. This new tool is part of the 10 measures proposed in the Commission Communication "Boosting Growth and Cohesion in EU Border Regions".
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TERRITORIES
Grand Est region: study on cross-border obstacles
February 2018The Regional Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Ceser) of the Grand Est region has published a study looking at the reduction of cross-border obstacles in the Grand Est region.
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EUROPE
ESPON - Territorial impact assessment tool, Cross-border public services
October 2017Developed over the course of the 2007-2013 programming period, the ESPON territorial impact assessment tool aims to support political decision-makers in identifying the potential territorial impacts of EU policies and legislative proposals in the regions.
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EUROPE
Adoption of the Communication “Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions”
September 2017On 20 and 21 September 2017 in Brussels, a conference was held to mark the adoption of the Communication entitled “Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions”.
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PUBLICATION
Guide for cross-border cooperation in the field of the environment
September 2017Within the context of the regional accord for the application of the Espoo Convention (1991) in a tri-national framework, the French-German-Swiss Upper Rhine Conference has published a guide to procedures for cross-border consultations concerning projects, plans and programmes with significant impact on the environment.
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PUBLICATION
Cross-border co-operation networks in West Africa
September 2017Long seen as artificial barriers inherited from decolonisation, West African borders now lie at the heart of policies designed to encourage regional trade and combat political instability.
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EUROPE
The proposals of the intergovernmental group on cross-border obstacles
March 2017On 16 February 2017 in Brussels, the fourth meeting of the intergovernmental working group on innovative solutions to obstacles to cross-border cooperation was held. Noting the benefits of cross-border cooperation, but also the persistence of many obstacles, in 2015 the Luxembourg presidency of the EU Council proposed the development of a new European legal tool, the "European Cross-Border Convention" (ECBC); for its part, the European Commission launched the "Cross-Border Review".
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EUROPE
5th meeting of the EP Working Group on Cross-Border Cooperation
March 2017On 1 March 2017 in Brussels, Anne Sander, MEP and vice-president of the MOT, hosted the 5th meeting of the EP Working Group on Cross-Border Cooperation. After the digital age, healthcare, Schengen and employment, the topic this time was the institutional initiatives underway at European level to remove obstacles to cross-border cooperation.
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FRANCE
Impact in border territories of the law on public security, in France
February 2017The vice-president of the MOT; Joël Giraud, member of parliament for Hautes-Alpes, is demanding special arrangements in border areas for authorisations for minors leaving the country.
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EUROPE
Third meeting of the intergovernmental group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles
January 2017The third meeting of the intergovernmental group initiated by Luxembourg and France took place on 14 December 2016 in Brussels. The discussions focused on the drafting of a final report that will set out the outline of the new European legal tool – the European Cross-Border Convention (ECBC) – proposed by the group and designed to help overcome cross-border obstacles.
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FRANCE
Analysis of the Letchimy law (France): "Freeing up external action of French local and regional authorities"
February 2017The “law relating to external action of territorial authorities and to the cooperation of overseas territories in their regional environment” was adopted on 5 December 2016.
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EUROPE
Final meeting of the Cross-Border Review group of experts
January 2017The MOT took part in the fourth and final meeting of Cross-Border Review experts that took place on 15 December in Brussels.
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EUROPE
ITEM Conference in the Netherlands
November 2016ITEM (Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility at Dutch borders) held its annual conference on 28 October 2016 in Maastricht, on the topic “Europe under pressure: effects for border regions – 25 years after the Maastricht Treaty”. The ITEM annual report, which analyses each year the impact of legislation on the border territories of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, was presented and discussed.
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EUROPE
Meetings in Brussels on "obstacles to cross-border cooperation"
October 2016The MOT took part in two important European meetings at the end of September in Brussels: the third meeting of the experts' group of the European Commission's "Cross-Border Review", and the second meeting of the "Intergovernmental working group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles".
