The European conference on participation, organised by the "Décider Ensemble" network, took place in Amiens from 13 to 17 September. Designing public services, involving citizens in the ecological transition and strengthening the European Union’s representative institutions and democratic legitimacy were among the themes spotlighted at this conference of participatory democracy players.
Seven years after its creation, the LGCC* of the Doubs Urban Conurbation (Agglomération Urbaine du Doubs – AUD) has shown its effectiveness in helping local elected representatives to get to know one another better, which has enabled them to set out joint projects while at the same time speaking with one voice on behalf of the binational territory.
What have been the different forms of border crisis since the start of 2020? Alongside the joint initiatives to manage the crises, what are the obvious imbalances they have revealed? To answer these questions, the MOT is publishing a summary of one year of reflections by its “Territorial Solidarities” working group.
In order to involve the greatest number of citizens in the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) has initiated the setting-up of a “European network of regional and local councillors for the EU”.
The health situation threw up a major challenge – that of providing a suitable format for citizens’ participation in the middle of a pandemic. In collaboration with the Euro-Institut and the MOT, the Basel Trinational Eurodistrict (ETB) developed a concept organised around a questionnaire and several virtual events. The aim was both to ensure broad participation from the population and to facilitate real exchanges between citizens from the three countries.
The Basel trinational conurbation is a genuinely shared living area that is strongly interconnected. In designing our Strategy 2030, it seemed extremely important to us to set our goals in accordance with what matters to the region’s population.
The health crisis put the inhabitants of border regions in an unprecedented position that placed a strain on all aspects of their daily lives. In this case, the daily lives of the inhabitants of the cross-border living area of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis were seriously disrupted. The concrete effects of these restrictions need to be analysed in greater depth to learn the lessons in order to act better in the future.
Feedback on the MOT Network’s Working Groups: Since 2020, the working groups of the MOT network have been bringing together MOT members at regular intervals to share the experiences of border areas and encourage the emergence of propositions for action. Here we present the findings of the first three groups established.
Feedback on the MOT Network’s Working Groups: Since 2020, the working groups of the MOT network have been bringing together MOT members at regular intervals to share the experiences of border areas and encourage the emergence of propositions for action. Here we present the findings of the first three groups established.
The Conference on the Future of Europe was launched on 9 May. A local dialogue in Strasbourg marked the territorial dimension of the conference, and highlighted that local and regional authorities are essential in taking it beyond Brussels and the European capitals.
“The effects of the health crisis are even more evident in cross-border catchment areas like those of Eurodistricts. [...] One essential criterion in cross-border cooperation is the reduction of inequalities, of differences and disparities between territories, given the proximity to citizens’ experiences. Yet, for over a year now, we have been seeing increasing disparities in our cross-border territories.”
On 28 February, Germany took the decision to restrict crossings at its border for people coming from the Moselle, describing the department as “a zone in which Covid-19 is circulating”.
At a time when we are seeing fresh border closures, the MOT is proposing to take a step back and to analyse the first phase of the crisis and its impact on cross-border living areas.
With the "Territoires en commun" (“Territories in Common”) platform launched on 19 January, the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion and the Banque des Territoires wish to enable all territorial authorities to have access to technical assistance for cooperation and citizens’ participation. The goal is to support territorial authorities and their partners – particularly state partners – in the appropriation of methods enabling the co-design of projects.
On 18 December 2020, the border towns of Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Gorizia (Italy) were designated “European Capital of Culture 2025”. This 100% cross-border candidacy represents a historic milestone for this competition: for the first time, the candidacy and the joint urban and cultural development project were steered by an EGTC in all of the phases of this long process.
On 2 February, the University of Lorraine and the University of the Greater Region, in collaboration with the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, launched the first edition of the “Borders” literary prize, dedicated to the universe of the writer Léonora Miano.
In collaboration with the MOT and the Euro-Institut, the Basel Trinational Eurodistrict is currently working on its Strategy 2030, which will set out its role, its organisation and its themes for the coming years. One of its goals is to involve citizens more, as cross-border cooperation is aimed at one thing above all: making daily life and coexistence the border region easier and more enriching for its inhabitants.
Since 31 January 2021, anyone entering France, including from other European countries, must be in possession of a negative Covid test obtained within the previous 72 hours. However, this obligation does not apply to the inhabitants of cross-border living areas (for journeys lasting less than 24 hours) or to cross-border workers.
Following the Covid-19 crisis in the border regions, and in the light of the scale of the coming transitions, a new impetus and long-term vision are needed more than ever to make these territories engines of solidarity and cooperation between Europeans. What have been the impacts of the pandemic on cross-border cooperation? What are the desirable futures for Europe, democracy and cooperation? These are the questions that the consultation on the long-term future of cross-border cooperation is attempting to answer.
On 16 December 2020, UNESCO added craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This listing gives recognition to an emblematic living tradition in the Franco-Swiss Jura Arc. The candidacy was regarded as exemplary by UNESCO in that it raises awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage in a cross-border space
On 9 October 2020, the final conference relating to the study “Analysis of the contributions made by the 2014-2020 cross-border cooperation programmes in the Grand Est Region”, led by the Region within the framework of the European programme Europ'Act and coordinated by the MOT and the Euro-Institut, brought together in the form of a webinar around one hundred participants.
Launched in 2020 on the initiative of the MOT, the AEBR and CESCI, the Alliance now has the political support of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
At its plenary assembly in October, the Grand Est CESER adopted an opinion on cross-border civil society. The MOT had been formally heard as part of the preparation of this publication.
This study was undertaken within the framework of the legal component of the “AB Réfugiés” project, which is led by the province of West Flanders and funded by the Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen programme. In the light of the disparities in unemployment on either side of the Franco-Belgian border and the difficulties that can be involved in obtaining a residence or work permit, the study provides an analysis of the legal frameworks pertaining to these statuses and obstacles to mobility.
While the crisis initially provoked uncoordinated border measures, it also revealed interdependencies and gave rise to multiple forms of cooperation and cross-border solidarity, which now need to be organised and strengthened by European and national public policies that take full account of the specific nature of cross-border territories.
