At its annual plenary council meeting on 13 December in Alp, in Cerdanya, the members of the Communauté de Travail des Pyrénées (CTP – Working Community of the Pyrenees) unveiled a new “Pyrenees Climate Change Strategy” (EPiCC).
A new MOT working group was launched on 14 December 2021, with 35 participants from varied backgrounds and sectors (protected natural areas, energy, transport, etc.).
On the eve of France’s presidency of the EU, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, have signed in Rome a bilateral cooperation treaty, the “Quirinal Treaty”. Sixty years after the signature of the Franco-German Élysée Treaty, this “friendship pact” is historical and marks the desire, at the highest level of state, to advance Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation.
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.
The Greater Region’s Geographical Information System and ATMO Grand Est have joined forces in order to develop an interactive map that makes it possible to check air quality across the whole of the cross-border territory of the Greater Region.
The Recovery and Ecological Transition Contracts (CRTE), announced by Jean Castex on 15 July 2020, set out “a new framework for dialogue with territories”.
On 30 November and 1 December, at the informal meeting of ministers responsible for urban development and territorial cohesion organised by the German EU presidency, two important documents for Europe’s territories were adopted: the New Leipzig Charter and the Territorial Agenda 2030.
On 17 September, the concluding webinar of the Europ’Act capitalisation project entitled “What prospects for Franco-Italian cross-border cooperation initiatives in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region?” brought together more than 150 people. Organised by the Sud Region and run by the MOT, it aimed to take stock of six years of cooperation initiatives and to outline the Interreg programme for 2021-2027.
Drawing on 29 years of cross-border cooperation, the "Espace Mont-Blanc" ("Mont-Blanc area") on the Franco-Italian-Swiss border is striving to adapt its territory by seeking joint responses to the impacts of climate change.
The French presidency of the EU strategy for the Alpine Region, launched on 4 February in Lyon, intends to move into higher gear regarding the ecological transition within this transnational space among the most vulnerable and under threat due to climate change.
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.
This practical guide, published by the secretariat of the Sahel and West Africa Club, has been produced with assistance from the MOT. It offers many insights on the legislative and financial levers for developing cross-border initiatives on resilience to climate change in West Africa.
Local and regional elected representatives are calling on the European Commission to provide more incentives at their respective levels to promote cross-border cooperation in the area of risk reduction. An opinion of the European Committee of The Regions to this effect was adopted on 27 June in Brussels.
The Strasbourg Eurometropolis has launched a project aimed at recovering the heat produced by the Kehl steelworks in order to provide energy for 4,000 households in Strasbourg within two years. This innovative project is a first in Europe at the cross-border level.
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.
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.
The 2019 European Conference on the Energy Transition took place on 22-24 January in Dunkirk, bringing together nearly 3,500 participants around the topic “Committed and mutually-supportive territories”. The MOT contributed to the discussions by organising a workshop illustrating three very concrete examples of cross-border cooperation in the area of the energy transition.
Under the Interreg programme ALCOTRA on the Franco-Italian border, two types of plan can be implemented: integrated territorial plans and integrated thematic plans. Integrated territorial plans are made up of a series of projects organised around several themes for a specific cross-border territory.
The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has launched a call for projects aimed at funding decentralised cooperation projects supported by French local authorities in partnership with foreign local authorities.
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 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.
The General Council on the Environment and Sustainable Development, which is responsible for advising the government in the different fields of competence of the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, has devoted a special edition of its magazine "Pour mémoire" to cross-border issues in the areas of transport, the environment and energy.
The city of Nice and the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolis are engaged in many cooperation projects within the framework of the ALCOTRA and MARITTIMO European programmes, in very varied areas such as: territorial development, strengthening links between urban and rural territories, innovation and support for businesses, sustainable development and combating climate change, healthcare and social inclusion, youth, culture and strengthening digital networks.
MAREA ("Modélisation et Aide à la décision face aux Risques côtiers en Euskal Atlantique" – Modelling and Assistance with Decision-Making faced with Coastal Risks in Atlantic Euskal) is a cross-border research project aimed at gaining a better understanding of storm episodes on the Basque coast, in order to predict risks of coastal flooding and erosion.
