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.
On 15 June 2018, the French Ministry of the Interior’s Centre for Advanced Studies (CHEMI) organised with the MOT a day of reflection on cross-border cooperation for the benefit of prefects.
More than 100 people gathered on 12 June 2018 in the ancient Vaucelles Abbey (Cambrésis, Nord) for the first Departmental Meeting on Cross-Border Cooperation organised by the Nord Department.
The executives of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin Departments have submitted to the Prefect of the Grand Est Region a proposal for an authority with special status, based on the views of 13,000 citizens.
The observation of cross-border territories, which is now recognised as a priority by European countries, is moving towards overall coordination. The MORO project launched in Germany has accelerated this progress.
This catalogue of good practices is designed to be a practical guide that gives people a better understanding of the "Euroregions": definition, list, typology, historical and geographical development, their role in cross-border governance, sectors of cooperation and the Euroregions' projects, etc.
The MOT took part in a conference entitled "Cross-Border Cooperation In Europe: Decentralisation, legal frameworks, and practice", organised under the aegis of the Council of Europe on 25 May in Dubrovnik.
Among 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.
The 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.
To mark its 20th anniversary, the MOT produced a map of European cross-border territories. Now, on the occasion of its 21st General Assembly, it is publishing – and has had printed in the form of a large poster – a map showing the cross-border territories along France's borders.
The 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.
The new French regions have to draw up a "Schéma régional d’aménagement, de développement durable et d’égalité des territoires" (SRADDET – Regional Spatial Planning, Sustainable Development and Territorial Equality Plan). In order to set out a unifying political project for its territory, the Grand Est Region has chosen to place the cross-border dimension at the heart of its actions and to involve its cross-border partners in drawing it up.
A 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.
The MOT has contributed to this publication produced by the French Urban Planning Agencies Network (FNAU), in two chapters: "Urban hubs and cross-border cooperation – a tool for dialogue across borders" and "How is inter-territoriality dealt with in other European countries?"
The 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).
"Beyond the speeches and symbols, what meaning can the concept of a cross-border region have? By defining the region as an identity-based, territorial and institutional construction that endures over time, this work identifies and interrogates the specificities of this process in the cross-border setting. The issues are explored using the emblematic example of the Greater Region, which launched a long-term strategy in 2008 involving Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Wallonia."
"The regions and countries that border the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region are very attractive to its inhabitants, businesses and territorial authorities." The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regional Economic, Social and Environmental Council has attempted to understand the dynamics at work in the neighbouring territories and their impact on the region, in an 84-page document entitled "From good neighbourly relations to a development strategy".
In reponse to Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel’s desire to sign a new Elysée Treaty in 2018, and on the occasion of its 55th anniversary, the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly, meeting in a joint session on 22 January, adopted a resolution inviting the two governments to renew this treaty in order to “deepen the Franco-German partnership” and “launch a new dynamic”.
On 8-10 November 2017 in Strasbourg, the MOT took part in the third edition of the "Castle Talks on Cross-Border Cooperation".
The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has launched a call for projects promoting decentralised cooperation, within which cross-border cooperation has been identified as a priority area.
Developed 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.
In light of the elaboration of a new European strategy for the “outermost regions” (ORs), the Regional Development Commission of the European Parliament published a report in March 2017 to promote cohesion and development in the ORs by applying article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in an innovative and positive manner.
On 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”.
Within 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.
