The Corsican Territorial Authority (Collectivité de Corse) and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia have launched a fundamental process of cooperation to ensure joint management of environmental issues in the Bucchi di Bunifaziu area.
From the English Channel to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, cooperation in sea basins was at the heart of discussions at the conference on Regional Cooperation in Maritime Areas (ReCMA), organised in September by the University of Lille, the TVES laboratory and the MOT. To report on this work, the MOT is publishing a "Focus" on this theme at the heart of European integration.
An opinion from the Committee of the Regions, voted in plenary session on November 29, focuses on EU regions' cooperation with neighbouring regions and countries.
On October 31st, 2023, the Piedmontese capital hosted the inaugural meeting of the new Cross-Border Cooperation Committee (CCF), a result of the Quirinal Treaty signed two years ago between France and Italy.
"For over 20 years, the Pas-de-Calais department has maintained strong, friendly bilateral relations with its neighbor across the Channel, the county of Kent.
On September 14th and 15th, 2023, the Regional Cooperation in Maritime Areas (ReCMA) symposium was held, organized by the Territories, Cities, Environment & Society (TVES) laboratory of the University of Lille and the MOT. The operational and academic approaches of the various speakers provided an overview of cooperation in the maritime basins bordering France.
At the "Mediterranean of the Future" event held in Marseille on September 22 th, 2023, Renaud Muselier, President of the South Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, announced plans for a Mediterranean-wide macro-region.
Climate change doesn’t care about borders and calls for greater solidarity! The Finistère Department and Cornwall County Council have shared values and challenges: regional languages, a Celtic culture, and a strong relationship with the sea and the environment.
Since it came into force on 31 January 2020, the effects of Brexit on the territories oriented towards the Channel are tangible. On both sides, the new procedures for exports are penalising small producers, the fishing and agri-business sectors, as well as the services sector (tourism and hospitality). The economic context linked to the double crisis (Covid and Brexit) is also putting many cross-Channel transport links at risk.
Six local authorities bordering the Strait of Dover and the North Sea have decided to turn their bilateral relations into a multilateral area for dialogue in order to encourage the emergence of cross-border projects across the territory of the Strait.
Great Britain is considered as part of the European Union until the end of the post-Brexit transition period in December 2020 and even though it had never been part of the Schengen area, facing the closure of this area to third country nationals since 17 March at 12 noon, the border with France remains open.
On 22 November 2019, the Pas-de-Calais Department hosted the closing conference of the PASSAGE project in Arras. The MOT took part in it.
The successful bids for the call for projects “France-United Kingdom: for a strengthened cooperation between our local authorities” launched by the British Embassy in France, with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been announced.
On 14-15 May, at the invitation of the Pas-de-Calais Department, 24 territorial authorities that border on 11 European straits gathered in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The purpose: to take stock of ten years of working together within the European Straits Initiative.
At once a Caribbean island, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic and an Outermost Region (OR) of the European Union, the Collectivity of Saint Martin has resolutely placed regional integration at the heart of its development strategy.
The characteristics, both geographic and political, of our territory justify the necessity for strengthened cooperation. The Collectivity of Saint Martin’s ambition is that, through strengthened regional cooperation, our territories become examples in the sectors where they possess “added value”, in developing, for example, infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) notably in terms of the circular economy, the blue economy, sustainable agriculture, renewable energies, digital technologies, and earthquake-resistant and hurricane-resistant materials...
The 2014-2020 Italy/France Maritime Programme has drafted a position paper on cross-border maritime cooperation after 2020. Its aim is to make a contribution regarding the future organisation of cross-border maritime cooperation, by highlighting the current obstacles, but also the responses provided by ETC programmes.
During his visit to French Guiana in October, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, stressed the importance of France's outermost regions.
Every year, the MOT publishes a dossier highlighting exemplary cross-border projects along French borders.
On 12 May, a conference was held to launch a new European project entitled "PASSAGE"*, initiated by the Pas-de-Calais Department and Kent County Council within the framework of the European Straits Initiative. Funded by the Interreg Europe programme, it involves eleven partners on five maritime borders** and is aimed at encouraging cross-border low-carbon initiatives.
The Pas-de-Calais Department has solid relations with its British neighbours, which have resulted in many projects and the signature of a cooperation agreement with the County of Kent.
The first call for proposals under the 2 Seas Programme (2014-2020) between France and the United Kingdom has been launched (deadline for the first stage: 15 February).
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.
