TERRITORIES
Concrete projects for the Upper Rhine!
January 2023125 cross-border projects were officially approved at the plenary session of the Collectivité Européenne d'Alsace (CEA) held on December 8th. The topic of energy took center stage!
125 cross-border projects were officially approved at the plenary session of the Collectivité Européenne d'Alsace (CEA) held on December 8th. The topic of energy took center stage!
The gradual conversion of a quarry in Saint-Louis, close to the French, Swiss and German borders, offers a promising opportunity for the agglomeration.
With a track record of more than 24 years, the "Living Pyrenees Education" network brings together more than 85 structures specializing in environmental education on the Pyrenean cross-border scale between France, Spain and Andorra.
The environment knows no borders, and neither does the climate!
Spatial planning is one of the essential levers for achieving carbon neutrality. This is why the partners of Greater Geneva wished to commit themselves to drawing up a new "cross-border territorial vision" in line with the objectives of ecological transition and to build the territory of tomorrow with a view to being carbon neutral by 2050.
Within the framework of the 11th World Urban Forum, which took place in Katowice on 26-30 June, the PFVT (the French platform for urban development internationally) has published 14 booklets produced by all of the stakeholders involved in the French partnership during an intensive period of work in 2021.
The call for proposals was launched at the "ConnectingEurope Days" in Lyon on 30 June.
Close to the Franco-German and Franco-Luxembourg borders, Bouzonville and Sierck-les-Bains are drawing up their cross-border goals with the help of the MOT.
Between late April and early May, three important topics for cross-border territories were the subject of discussions for the network’s working groups: the impact of cross-border projects on the environment; the issue of social security with respect to cross-border employment; and the definition and recognition of “cross-border living areas”. Below is a preliminary summary of the discussions.
Elisa Ferreira, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions, have their say about a major issue for cross-border areas, but not only: the ecological transition.
The call selects inspiring projects focused on the transformation of infrastructures or public spaces that promote the three complementary values of the "New European Bauhaus": sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion. Towns (or groupings of municipalities) of fewer than 100,000 inhabitants can apply. EGTCs are also eligible.
On 28 January, the European Commission published the "criteria and guidance" aimed at supporting Member States in identifying and designating new protected areas, with an objective of legally protecting 30% of land in the EU by 2030. The added value of cross-border cooperation is highlighted in them.
More than 30 years after the creation of the INTERREG programme, the European Commission has teamed up with some of the most renowned experts* in the field of ETC to produce the very first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) entirely dedicated to European Territorial Cooperation!
AEBR and the European Commission’s DG REGIO have released a series of publications aiming at raising awareness of cross-border cooperation. These showcase relevant information gained through the implementation of the b-solutions initiative, which AEBR has managed on behalf of DG REGIO for the past four years.
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).
The Alzette Belval EGTC has unveiled its new cross-border strategy for the next six years.
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.
On 19 November, the French President Emmanuel Macron came to the Avesnois and the Thiérache to sign a second-generation contract between the French state and the territory.
On 18 November, the PAMINA Eurodistrict, in partnership with the MOT, held a seminar on the circular economy in the cross-border setting.
Following on from the MOT’s workshop “Breathing without borders” held on 13 October during the EURegionsWeek, the MOT has published three project factsheets corresponding to the examples of good practices presented during the workshop.
The four roundtables held during the MOT’s annual event on 21-22 September gave rise to rich discussions among the 200 participants present in Morteau and La Chaux-de-Fonds.
On the 10th anniversary of its creation on 27 October, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Euskadi Navarra Euroregion presented its new strategic plan.
At a time when environmental health is a growing concern for citizens and the Commission is launching its ambitious “Zero-pollution action plan” within the framework of the European Green Deal, the MOT and its network decided to organise a workshop entitled “Breathing without borders: challenges in improving air quality in cross-border regions” during the European Week of Cities and Regions.
In the presence of Joël Giraud, Minister of State for Rural Affairs under the Minister for Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Government, more than a hundred participants from all of France’s borders gathered for the MOT’s general assembly on 21-22 September in Morteau and La Chaux-de-Fonds, at the invitation of the Doubs Urban Conurbation.