More than 150 people, elected officials and stakeholders in cross-border territories, national and European representatives met in Chamonix on 17-18 June on the occasion of the MOT General Assembly to debate on the impact of territorial reforms on cross-border cooperation.
"The end of roaming – additional charges for telephone calls made and messages sent from abroad – is anticipated with impatience by all border residents,” declared Anne Sander, MEP and MOT vice-president, on the occasion of the launch meeting of a new parliamentary working group on border questions on 24 June at the European Parliament.
The MAPTAM (modernisation of territorial public action and affirmation of metropolitan areas) Act of 27 January 2014 has opened up new fields for the cross-border cooperation of large conurbations. Linked with the cohesion policy and the EGTC instrument in particular, it shows that the importance of metropolitan approaches in cross-border living and working areas is being taken into account.
With a view to its presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2015, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has placed the clearing of obstacles to cross-border cooperation at the centre of its priorities. A member of the MOT, the Grand-Duchy commissioned it to provide assistance, generating input for one of three technical seminars which took place on 19 May 2015 in Luxembourg City in preparation of its presidency. The MOT analysis is online.
The CHEMI (Centre for High-Level Studies of the Ministry of the Interior - France) publishes the proceedings of the discussions' day on the "cross-border prefect" organized on 20th June 2014, in partnership with the MOT.
The first German EGTC, “Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alps Corridor”, with its registered office located in Mannheim, was approved on 24 April 2015 by the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg.
A circular signed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been sent to the regional prefects requiring them to set up regional conferences on public investment before the end of May.
On 1 January 2015, the Communauté Urbaine de Lille (Urban Community of Lille) became the Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL – Lille European Metropolis). The MEL is one of only two cross-border metropolises to be recognised as such by law, alongside Strasbourg.
For the Lille European Metropolis, the proximity of the border constitutes an asset in terms of development and attractiveness.
"France and Switzerland declared their mutual friendship on 15th April 2015, without hiding the frictions between the two countries. François Hollande expressed his concern about national preference with regard to employment. […] During his State visit to Bern, the French president, François Hollande, stated before the seven federal councillors that he was making Greater Geneva a priority issue."
The Alsace Region has just published "Alsace 2030 – a project for the whole of Alsace", the fruit of work carried out during 2014 at the Region's instigation, in a process of broad consultation with all of the territory's active stakeholders.
The MOT network is mobilised under EU Luxembourg's presidency (2nd half of 2015) to identify the obstacles to cross-border cooperation. In this context, a workshop "The need for specific legal provisions to boost cross-border cooperation" is organised by the Presidency on 19th May 2015.
On 18 June 2014 in France, the draft legislation concerning the country's new territorial organisation (the NOTRe Act), which provides for a reorganisation of the competences of the territorial authorities at all levels, was submitted to the Senate.
"Wallonia is a border territory par excellence: its relations with its neighbours have always played a crucial role in its development."
Depuis le 1er janvier 2015, la région wallonne a l’honneur et la responsabilité de présider la Grande Région, exercice assumé en étroite collaboration avec ses partenaires belges, la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles et la Communauté germanophone.
Etienne Blanc, MP for the Ain Department and first Vice-President of the French Geneva area Regional Cooperation Assembly (ARC), submitted an amendment to the "NOTRe" draft legislation (in France) to enable border metropolitan conurbations of member countries of the Council of Europe, such as the Swiss Confederation, to participate in a Euroregional Cooperation Grouping (EGC).
Since the overhaul of the MOT's website in November 2013, nearly 150 maps illustrating the intensity of cross-border relations along France's borders have been put online. Presentation of the latest additions.
This European research project, led by the University of Eastern Finland, held its final conference on 20-21 February 2015 in Istanbul. This event was an opportunity to present the findings and the studies carried out during the four-year research project, the aim of which was to analyse regional development at Europe's external borders through cross-border cooperation policies and practices.
On 19 December 2014 in Hendaye, the 2014-2020 strategic plan for the Aquitaine-Euskadi Euroregion EGTC was presented.
This year of 2014 has been a difficult one for "Greater Geneva".
As 2014 draws to a close, the technical work to update the report of the French-Belgian parliamentary working group (GTPFB), initiated by the prefecture of the Nord-Pas de Calais Region, is being finalised. This initiative has benefited from the support and expertise of the MOT.
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.
The 12th OPEN DAYS, European Week of Regions and Cities, took place from 6 to 9 October 2014 in Brussels, bringing together some 6000 persons from the whole of Europe. There were many workshops on European territorial cooperation.
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.
Implementation of a cross-border strategy for the future of the Mont Blanc mountain range took a step forward on 22 January 2014 with the signature of a statement of intent regarding the setting-up of a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation by the three vice-chairmen of the Mont Blanc Cross-Border Conference.
