A "Southern Alps Cross-border Alliance" was launched on February 8th 2024 in Imperia in the presence of Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, President of the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and Deputy President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, and Claudio Scajola, Mayor of Imperia and President of the Province of Imperia.
For almost a year, the MOT, supported by sixteen partners, has been conducting a "cross-border living areas" experiment on five pilot sites on the French borders: PAMINA Eurodistrict (French-German border), the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis (French-Belgian border), Nord Lorrain - Luxembourg (French-Luxembourg border), Southern Alps - Riviera (French-Italian-Monegasque border) and Franco-Vaud-Geneva conurbation (French-Swiss border)
Following the launch of the Franco-Italian Border Cooperation Committee, and more recently of the "Observ'Alp" project, which brings together numerous partners between France, Italy and Monaco, Christian Estrosi answers our questions on the major cross-border challenges facing the Metropolis with its border neighbors.
The cooperation dynamic launched at the beginning of the year by the French Riviera Conurbation Community (Communauté d'Agglomération de la Riviera Française - CARF) and the City of Sanremo is continuing today, with the aim of setting up an EGTC by the end of 2024.
Promoting the history of the salt roads has been a theme of interest to many local players and elected representatives in the cross-border area for many years.
On June 19th and 20th, 2023, the first symposium on Italo-French cross-border cooperation was held in Menton, organised by researchers from the CNR-ISSIRFA and the CERDAFF-DITER. It brought together a large number of academics, technicians, and politicians to discuss the challenges of Italo-French cross-border cooperation.
A meeting between Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice and president of the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Area, and Claudio Scajola, mayor of Imperia and president of the Province of Imperia, on the 19th of May in Nice, provided an opportunity to present a cross-border coastal development programme between the Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Area and the Province of Imperia, and another programme focusing on the mountains between the Vésubie and Tinée valleys and the neighbouring valleys of the Provinces of Imperia and Cuneo.
The MOT, supported by sixteen partners of its network, initiated a "cross-border living areas experiment" at the end of 2022.
During this sequence programmed on 8 April as part of the Banque des Territoires and its Hub’s "Europe and Territories" breakfast shows, Jean Peyrony, the MOT’s Director-General, highlighted the major challenges of cross-border cooperation :
On 24-25 March 2022, at the invitation of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, the MOT had the pleasure of facilitating a Franco-Italian citizens’ forum against a very positive backdrop: the start of the European Year of Youth, the publication of the findings of the Conference on the Future of Europe, France’s presidency of the EU Council and the recent signing of the Quirinal Treaty between the two countries’ governments.
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.
The first Franco-Italian accelerator has just been set up. Its aim is to help French and Italian SMEs to work together to grow internationally.
Following the adoption of the first four Cross-Border Cooperation Strategies (Schémas de Coopération Transfrontalière – SCT) by the Nice, Strasbourg and Lille Metropolises, as well as by the Basque Country Conurbation Community, the MOT and its partners embarked on the drafting of a preliminary assessment of these initiatives that has resulted in a publication, co-written with each of these groupings of municipalities.
The MOT has contributed to the production of a report together with Professor Philippe Weckel and Robert Botteghi, within the framework of the territorial diplomacy (DITER) programme, of the University of the Côte d’Azur.
The Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis is a unique cross-border territory, located between the sea and the mountains and adjacent to two borders: an internal EU border over 100 km long with the Piedmont Region in Italy and an international border with the Principality of Monaco. Its 2020-2030 Cross-Border Cooperation Strategy, adopted on 16 December 2019, is organised into four complementary levels of work.
The MAPTAM Act* enables border metropolises to draw up a Cross-Border Cooperation Strategy. Lille, Strasbourg and Nice have taken up this opportunity and have been working since 2018, with support from the MOT, on formulating a strategy to structure their cross-border policy. Other territories have followed suit such as the Basque Country Conurbation Community.
With the support of the MOT, Lille, Strasbourg and Nice are the three French border region metropolises that have embarked on drawing up a "Schéma de cooperation transfrontalière" (Cross-Border Cooperation Strategie, CCS), introduced by the Maptam Act* in 2014. Through its network, the MOT enables the three metropolises to share experiences and information regarding their methodologies, the obstacles encountered and the local political contexts, as well as to relay their needs to the national and European authorities.
Under the Interreg programme ALCOTRA on the Franco-Italian border, two types of plan can be implemented: integrated territorial plans and integrated thematic plans. Integrated territorial plans are made up of a series of projects organised around several themes for a specific cross-border territory.
The MOT, and the Jacques Delors Institute have in a 50-page document compiled a summary of the five cross-border citizen consultations that they held with local partners.
Why is Europe disorganised? What cross-border projects does the EU fund? Why is it important to vote in the European elections? On 5 October a cross-border citizens’ consultation was organised in Nice by the MOT, the Jacques Delors Institute, the Nice-Côte d’Azur Metropolis and the Alpes Maritimes European Movement.
During its General Assembly in May 2018 in Nice and Ventimiglia, the MOT held two round tables on the topics "Local cross-border cooperation in the French-Italian border area" and "The French-Italian-Monacan Metropolitan area under construction", which were complemented by a presentation of cross-border projects within the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolis.
Two roundtables devoted to cooperation between France, Italy and Monaco were held in Ventimiglia on 23 May following the MOT's General Assembly. They brought together many local elected representatives, such as Enrico Ioculano, Mayor of Ventimiglia, Jean-Pierre Vassallo, Mayor of Tende and Vice-President of the French Riviera Conurbation Community, Fabio Natta, Mayor of Cesio and President of Imperia Province, Frederico Borgna, Mayor of Cuneo and President of Cuneo Province and Marine De Carne-Trecesson, France's Ambassador to Monaco.
Since 2012, the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolis has been part of the MOT's network, which allows it to position itself at the heart of cross-border cooperation issues, by developing its links not only with its direct neighbours, Italy and the Principality of Monaco, but also with other European cross-border players.
The city of Nice and the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolis are engaged in many cooperation projects within the framework of the ALCOTRA and MARITTIMO European programmes, in very varied areas such as: territorial development, strengthening links between urban and rural territories, innovation and support for businesses, sustainable development and combating climate change, healthcare and social inclusion, youth, culture and strengthening digital networks.
