News

MOT

Revitalisation of inner cities in the Greater Region

On 21 November 2019 the UniGR – Center for Border Studies held in Esch-sur-Alzette, in Luxembourg, its fourth Greater Region Forum, on the topic "Revitalisation of inner cities in the Greater Region". In the light of the pressure on the retail sector in the Greater Region, as well as in other cross-border regions, the discussions focused on the organisation of retailers in the face of this competition, on consumer behaviour and on possible avenues for co-development.

FRANCE

Meeting of the National Mountain Council on cross-border issues

The National Mountain Council is a consultative body, established by the Montagne Act, that has a proposal-making role with respect to setting goals for the development, spatial planning and protection of mountain ranges. It is made up of parliamentarians and representatives from the regions and departments of the six mountain ranges in metropolitan France (the Alps, Corsica, the Jura, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees and the Vosges) and the three overseas mountain ranges, social professionals and representatives from the voluntary sector. The General Commission for Territorial Equality provides its general secretariat.

TERRITORIES

The Ardennes Department – a European and cross-border location

TERRITORIES

A cross-border strategy for the Franco-Belgian Ardennes

In May 2019, Ardenne Métropole and the Belgian association of municipalities Idelux embarked on the drawing-up of a “Strategic plan for the development of the cross-border territory of the Franco-Belgian Ardennes”.

TERRITORIES

The "High Valleys - Heart of the Alps" Integrated Territorial Plan

The cross-border territory of the “High Valleys” is located in the heart of the Alps, between Savoie, Piedmont and the High Alps. It consists of 13 groups of municipalities, 147 rural mountain districts and 270,753 inhabitants spread over 6,350 km2. A cross-border strategy "The High Valleys – Smart Destination" was drawn up in order to group together the common development priorities for the coming years.

TERRITORIES

A Pyrenean climate strategy

The members of the Working Community of the Pyrenees have formalised an innovative new instrument for cross-border cooperation and development, named “Pyrenean Strategy”. Its priorities include the preservation of the Pyrenees’ biodiversity, the adaptation of territories to global warming, combating desertification, and access to mobility.

TERRITORIES

A new cross-border park between France, Spain and Andorra

On 24 August 2018, representatives of France, Andorra and Spain approved the creation of a new cross-border park: the “Three Nations Pyrenees Park”. This new park results from the merger of four already existing parks: the Alt Pirineu Nature Park in Catalonia, the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Nature Park and the Sorteny Valley and Comapedrosa Valley Nature Parks in Andorra.

TERRITORIES

Signature of an agreement at the French-Spanish border

The Pyrenees Haute-Garonne Community of Municipalities and the Aran Conselh Generau held a ceremony on 20 April in Fos to commemorate the 505th anniversary of the signing of the " Lies et Patseries" Treaty.

TERRITORIES

Launch of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis's "Parc Bleu"

More than 100 people – elected representatives, technicians and civil society players – took part in the event on 22 March to launch the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis's "Parc Bleu".

MOT

Launch of the MOT's online forum

The MOT's Forum is up and running!

FRANCE

President Emmanuel Macron's visit to French Guiana

During his visit to French Guiana in October, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, stressed the importance of France's outermost regions.

MOT

2017 project files

Every year, the MOT publishes a dossier highlighting exemplary cross-border projects along French borders.

EUROPE

Call for proposals under the LIFE programme

In April, the European programme LIFE launched a new call for projects with two focuses: the environment and action for climate.

MOT

MOT Study on cross-border issues in mountain areas

At the request of the CGET,* the MOT has conducted a study on the cross-border issues in mountain areas, which cover nearly 42% of mainland France's borders.

EUROPE

Committee of the Regions conference on natural disasters in cross-border areas

Jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions and the MOT, this conference brought together more than 60 participants, on 3 February in Brussels. Its objective was to present best practice in the area of risk prevention and crisis management in cross-border zones: forest fires (ES-PT), flooding in the Nisa Euroregion (DE-CZ-PL), seismic risks in the Alps (FR-IT-CH), risks in mountainous regions (FR-ES) and more generally, civil protection (EGTC Euregio Senza Confini IT-AT).

TERRITORIES

The Working Community of the Pyrenees, at the heart of the development strategy for the Pyrenean massif

The Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) brings together the French and Spanish border regions, and Andorra. Its main objective is to contribute to harmonious and coordinated development of the Pyrenean massif.

The MOT's workshops : "Cross-border investments" and "Rural areas"

During the European Week of Regions and Cities, the MOT organised two workshops: the first on cross-border investment and the second on rural areas.

PUBLICATION

"Nature conservation in a cross-border setting"

"Relations between nature and national borders have traditionally been regarded as antagonistic: while nature does not recognise borders, international public law is structured by them. Borders thus constitute a threat for nature in a context of accelerated erosion of biological diversity worldwide."

MOT

The MOT's contribution on the topic of tourism

The MOT made a contribution on the topic of cross-border tourism in Europe to the Commission for Natural Resources ("NAT") of the Committee of the Regions, which is currently working on an opinion on the subject entitled "Tourism as a driving force for regional cooperation across the EU".

TERRITORIES

Cooperation between rural areas on the German-Luxembourg border

The first-ever cross-border regional development strategy since the launch of the European programme LEADER is being put in place along the Moselle River where it divides Germany and Luxembourg.

EUROPE

Commission launches the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region

Today the Commission officially launched the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP), the fourth EU macro-regional strategy. More than70 million citizens will reap the benefits of a closer cooperation between regions and countries in terms of research and innovation, SME support, mobility, tourism, environmental protection and energy resources management.

TERRITORIES

The Espace Mont-Blanc: a cooperation space to be protected and promoted

For more than twenty years, the Espace Mont Blanc (FR/IT/CH) has been striving to meet the needs for sustainable and balanced development of the Mont Blanc massif and its valleys, in order to protect and promote this emblematic cross-border territory.

TERRITORIES

The "Espace Pourtalet": from border to symbol of cooperation

On 27 October 2014, the two member institutions of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), set up in 2011 by the Pyrénées Atlantiques Department and the Government of Aragon, inaugurated the Espace Pourtalet Centre, the first concrete result of the work carried out by the EGTC. Located in a converted former Spanish customs house, this new facility comprises a cross-border snow-clearing centre and a cross-border resource centre.

TERRITORIES

The European Straits initiative is continuing!

On Wednesday 22 October, the NOSTRA (Network Of STRAits) project was closed in Brussels. NOSTRA is a European cooperation project led by the Pas-de-Calais Department. The 16 partners along 8 straits, from North to South, including the Danube delta, share the objective of preserving the biodiversity and natural heritage of their territories, while also highlighting their common concerns: governance, the environment, tourism, mobility and maritime safety, etc.

TERRITORIES

The Alps-Mediterranean Euroregion relaunched

The presidents of the Liguria, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Piemonte, Rhône-Alpes and Valle d’Aosta regions decided at a meeting in Turin on 12 September 2014 to relaunch the Alps-Mediterranean Euroregion.