The "ACTS" project* was launched in February 2015 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.** It is a Priority Solidarity Fund project financed by France. It aims to help Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso preserve their sovereignty through better management of border regions with respect to security and local development.
In the context of drawing up its SRDEII,* the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region asked the MOT, of which it is a member, to carry out an assessment of cross-border issues in the Region (which borders on Switzerland and Italy) that could be included in a cross-border component of the regional programme.
The EGTC Platform of the Committee of the Regions has presented three recent studies on cross-border cooperation.
The SaarMoselle Eurodistrict has just adopted an action programme for the next five years.
Study carried out by the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI), 2016
On 18 April 2016, the Conférence TransJurassienne (CTJ) presented its new strategy for cross-border cooperation in the territory of the French-Swiss Jura Arc.
Cross-border cooperation was on the agenda for the 18th Franco-German Council of Ministers presided by François Hollande and Angela Merkel on 7 April 2016 in Metz.
At the request of the Haitian authorities, the French Embassy has mobilised the expertise of the MOT in a planning mission for a programme supporting the governance of Haitian local authorities located in the area bordering the Dominican Republic.
On march 18th, Basque Country’s President Iñigo Urkullu chaired the first 2016 Assembly of the Euroregion Aquitaine-Euskadi, at Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The President of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine Region, Philippe Richert, and his first Vice-President, Patrick Weiten, have written to the French President of the Republic. They are asking for 'a strong signal' to be sent at the French-German council of ministers meeting on 7 April in Metz.
The publication "Systèmes Territoriaux Régionaux" ("Regional Territorial Systems") that was brought out in January 2016 by the French Federation of Public Urban Planning Agencies (the FNAU) provides an analysis of territorial issues and interrelationships in France, through the lens of legislative developments and the issues at stake in public policy. A section written by the MOT is devoted to the cross-border dimension.
In October 2015, the Greater Geneva local grouping of cross-border cooperation (LGCC) launched an initiative to draw up a territorial project for the whole of the French-Vaud-Geneva conurbation for the 2016-2030 period. This process of reflection will be completed at the end of this year. It involves the elected representatives of the region, both Swiss and French, and cross-border civil society organised through the Greater Geneva Conurbation Forum.
On 3 December 2015, Jacques Melly, the President of the Conseil d'Etat of the Canton of Valais, handed over the presidency of the Leman Council to Virginie Duby-Muller, Vice-President in charge of cooperation and cross-border affairs of the Haute-Savoie Conseil Départemental, who is also Vice-President of the MOT.
Following the regional elections and the reform which reduced the number of regions in mainland France from 22 to 13, the MOT has published a note (in French) on the new French regions and the territorial reform: what will be the impact on cross-border cooperation?.
Within the framework of its presidency of the EU Council, on 26-27 November 2015, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg brought together the European ministers responsible for territorial cohesion and urban policy for an informal meeting in Luxembourg. The discussions fed into the conclusions of the Luxembourg presidency, which is proposing actions to facilitate cross-border cooperation within the EU.
At the instigation of the Midi-Pyrénées General Secretariat for Regional Affairs, a working seminar aimed at the decentralised government departments in the regions bordering Spain and Andorra was held on 25 November 2015 in Toulouse to discuss practices and consider new modes of organisation designed to remove the obstacles to French-Spanish-Andorran cooperation.
On 26 November in Kortrijk, a day based around the theme of innovation and the concept of "Learn do share" was held by the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis. Nearly 120 people reflected together on how to develop the Eurometropolis and be involved in it.
The Joint Secretariat of the Upper Rhine Conference and the journalist Reinhard Reck have produced a booklet to mark the 40th anniversary of the French-German-Swiss intergovernmental commission. The booklet presents the evolution, diversity and dynamism of cross-border cooperation in the Upper Rhine since the Bonn Agreement signed in 1975.
The topic of the conference was: “Territorial Reforms: what impact for cross-border cooperation?”
The seminar organised by the Council of Europe was an opportunity to examine cross-border cooperation activity organised around the work of the Basel Trinational Eurodistrict (ETB), the international architecture exhibition IBA Basel 2020 and the Basel Agglomeration programme.
On the occasion of the European Cooperation Day and a week after the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Interreg, the umbrella framework for Regional Policy's cross border cooperation programmes, the Commission has launched an EU-wide public consultation on the remaining obstacles to cross border cooperation.
Meeting in Luxembourg on 2 September 2015, the members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) called on the EU to step-up its efforts to strengthen cross-border cooperation. The discussions took place within the framework of the work currently being carried out under Luxembourg's presidency.
The New Territorial Organisation of the Republic Act (the "NOTRe Act") was promulgated on 7 August 2015 in France.
A French-German ministerial conference, attended by French secretary of state for European affairs Harlem Désir and his German counterpart Michael Roth, both general-secretaries for French-German cooperation, took place on 6 and 7 July in Metz.
