With the joint hosting of the cross-border start of the Tour de France in 2023 and the second edition of the cross-border summer universities, there is a great deal going on in the French-Spanish Basque Country. At a meeting in July, elected representatives from both sides of the border emphasised their desire to take cooperation further.
The Platform on the perception of borders, the final product of the FRONTEM project, as well as the toolkit on the five borders studied, have been put online.
To produce a map based on the feelings of citizens, the Forum of the Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai - who constitutes its citizen assembly - launched this project a year ago to capture the "emotional landscape of the cross-border living area".
On March 24th, 2023, the Franco-German citizen portal "FRED.info" was put online. Developed in the framework of a partnership between the Land of Baden-Württemberg and the Grand Est Region, the tool is managed by the Franco-German Institute (DFI).
"By studying the past, history allows the present to build bridges to the future", this is the motto under which the Franco-German Citizen Fund has just launched a call for projects entitled "Journey through time".
With a track record of more than 24 years, the "Living Pyrenees Education" network brings together more than 85 structures specializing in environmental education on the Pyrenean cross-border scale between France, Spain and Andorra.
Since its application for the title of "European Capital of Culture", the city of Esch-sur-Alzette, on the Luxembourgian side of the border, has emphasised the cross-border dimension of its territory and has integrated French municipalities and partners.
On September 30th, 2022, the closing event of the QUALICANES Interreg project took place.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the European Archaeological Park of Bliesbruck-Reinheim, its two historical partners, the Department of Moselle and the Saarpfalzkreis, have initiated an in-depth reflection to make this site "a laboratory for local Franco-German cooperation."
What do Lille, Esch-sur-Alzette (LU), Nova Gorica (SI), Timișoara (RO), Mons (BE) and Novi Sad (SRB) have in common?
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.
More than 30 years after the creation of the INTERREG programme, the European Commission has teamed up with some of the most renowned experts* in the field of ETC to produce the very first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) entirely dedicated to European Territorial Cooperation!
Continuing a collaboration going back 30 years, the territories located south of Monte Viso (3,841 metres), the iconic mountain in the Southern Alps, are structuring their cooperation within the framework of an integrated territorial plan supported by the ALCOTRA programme, known as “Terres Monviso”.
The latest Franco-German Council of Ministers, which met on 31 May 2021 alongside the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, took stock of the implementation of the Aachen Treaty and the substantial advances in Franco-German cooperation over the past few months. It was also an opportunity to launch new cooperation initiatives, notably in the areas of healthcare, culture and youth, as well as to prepare for the major upcoming international and European events.
On 3 February 2021, Saarland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Strobel, went to Paris to receive the "Prix coup de cœur 2021" awarded by the magazine "Acteurs Publics".
At a time when we are seeing fresh border closures, the MOT is proposing to take a step back and to analyse the first phase of the crisis and its impact on cross-border living areas.
On 18 December 2020, the border towns of Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Gorizia (Italy) were designated “European Capital of Culture 2025”. This 100% cross-border candidacy represents a historic milestone for this competition: for the first time, the candidacy and the joint urban and cultural development project were steered by an EGTC in all of the phases of this long process.
On 2 February, the University of Lorraine and the University of the Greater Region, in collaboration with the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, launched the first edition of the “Borders” literary prize, dedicated to the universe of the writer Léonora Miano.
On 16 December 2020, UNESCO added craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This listing gives recognition to an emblematic living tradition in the Franco-Swiss Jura Arc. The candidacy was regarded as exemplary by UNESCO in that it raises awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage in a cross-border space
On 22 September 2019, amateur and professional cyclists from either side of the Rhine set off to discover the territory of the Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict during a cross-border cycle ride.
Yann Dubois, Editions Alphil-Presses universitaires suisses, Collection "Espaces, mobilités et sociétés" No. 9, 613 pp, 2019 - in French.
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.
On 7 March 2019 in Esch-sur-Alzette, a city selected to be European Capital of Culture in 2022, an event was held to launch the Jean Monnet "CECCUT" project (European Capitals of Culture and Cross-Border Urban Cohesion).
Documentary by Simon Brunel and Nicolas Pannetier, 53 min, broadcast on Arte on 16 November 2018 at 10:20am.
The MOT has partnered with the Jacques Delors Institute to promote the organisation of citizen consultations at the cross-border level. This mobilisation has allowed the holding of five consultations in partnership with a number of MOT members.
