The MOT has partnered with the Jacques Delors Institute to promote the organisation of citizen consultations at the cross-border level. This mobilisation has allowed the holding of five consultations in partnership with a number of MOT members.
Launched in 2017 in the Pamina Eurodistrict, the educational game “Passe-partout – Weltenbummler” (“Globetrotter”) has successfully completed an initial pilot phase, and in September 2018 begins a new phase now covering the whole of the Upper Rhine region. A project to replicate!
The Alzette Belval EGTC has just launched an interactive mapping system to provide fair access to leisure equipment and services across the cross-border territory. It became apparent that such an initiative was necessary to encourage its inhabitants to take part in activities on either side of the border.
The Pyrenees Haute-Garonne Community of Municipalities and the Aran Conselh Generau held a ceremony on 20 April in Fos to commemorate the 505th anniversary of the signing of the " Lies et Patseries" Treaty.
"They are French and live in France, but work on the other side of the border, in Italy, Switzerland or Germany. They are known as the 'transfrontaliers' [cross-border workers]… There are 500,000 of them – the highest number in Europe. But is there an entente cordiale between these French people and their neighbours?"
"Since its creation, the European Union seems to be guided by the idea that an increase in cross-border flows contributes to more European unity. […] In a context characterized by the rise of Euroscepticism, it seems crucial to take a more critical look at actual cross-border integration and to unravel its concrete consequences for the people who live in border regions."
More than 100 people – elected representatives, technicians and civil society players – took part in the event on 22 March to launch the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis's "Parc Bleu".
The Cross-Border Jura Arc Forum celebrated the 10th anniversary of its creation on Saturday 21 October 2017 at the town hall of Le Russey in the Haut-Doubs Department.
The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has launched a call for projects promoting decentralised cooperation, within which cross-border cooperation has been identified as a priority area.
Every year, the MOT publishes a dossier highlighting exemplary cross-border projects along French borders.
The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) manages on behalf of the European Commission the new initiative known as "Interreg Volunteer Youth" (IVY), which aims to give young Europeans aged 18-30 the opportunity to serve as volunteers in Interreg programmes and projects.
The Pamina Eurodistrict is launching a digital version of a board game called "Le Passe-partout" ("The Master Key") to help schoolchildren learn about the rich cultural heritage of the Franco-German territory and encourage bilingualism.
On 28 February, the MOT made a presentation at the Ministry of Territorial Development, to students from the European section of the Lycée Marcel Pagnol in Athis-Mons, as part of a day devoted to finding out about Franco-German cooperation organised by the Franco-German Office for Youth.
Michel Charrat, the President of the European Cross-Border Grouping and Treasurer of the MOT, gives us his analysis of the implementation of the vote in February 2014 in Switzerland, which was aimed at restricting the number of foreign workers.
The Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum commissioned an original piece of work from Thomas Brasey as part of his thematic cycle entitled "Le Doubs Miroir" ("The Doubs Mirror") in order for him to train his photographer's eye on the cross-border territory between Saint-Ursanne in the Swiss Jura and Saint-Hippolyte in Franche-Comté, two municipalities linked by the river Doubs.
Thanks to the Kubic project, which was led by the Saarmoselle Eurodistrict and funded by the Interreg IVA programme, five local French and German television stations pooled their know-how and technical resources to produce a weekly cross-border music programme.
The first report of the European consultation on the obstacles and potential solutions to cross-border cooperation yields some very interesting analyses. A few elements: concerning the profile of the respondents, 84% of them live in a border region and 48% are private individuals.
With 25 years of supporting Interreg programmes for cross-border cooperation to its credit, celebrated in 2015, but aware of the progress that still needs to be made, the Commission initiated a process of identifying the obstacles that remain at the EU's internal land borders.
"There is no more contemporary phenomenon than that linked to borders," emphasised Jean-Barthélemy Debost, head of the network and partnerships department at the National Museum of the History of Immigration, in his opening address to the conference organised on 27 February by the MOT in connection with the exhibition "Frontières" ("Borders") in Paris.
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.
The Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (Museum of Immigration History) in Paris is curating an exhibition focusing on borders, from 10th November 2015 to 29th May 2016. From works of art to maps, contemporary photographs and migrants’ own accounts, this unique exhibition sheds light on the role of borders around the world and contemporary issues surrounding them.
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.
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.
Ambitieux projet porté par Le Pays Horloger (France) et le Parc naturel régional du Doubs (Suisse), les Chemins de la Contrebande franco-suisse proposent quatre itinéraires pédestres et VTT entre la France et la Suisse, alternative originale aux randonnées classiques, avec une quête ludique et l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies, qui pimentent les parcours entre France et Suisse et ouvrent un vaste champ de découvertes à partager.
