Bridging the gap between France and Germany, Strasbourg is at the heart of the Upper Rhine and has formed diverse partnerships at various levels of cross-border cooperation consistent with its metropolitan policies.
On the territory of the French-Swiss Jura Arc, the Doubs Urban Conurbation (Agglomération Urbaine du Doubs – AUD) has launched a cross-border intercultural and intergenerational project aimed at involving the populations and civil society of the French and Swiss municipalities that make it up: Morteau (F), Villers-le-Lac (F), Les Fins (F), La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH), Le Locle (CH) and Les Brenets (CH).
"Today, the importance of borders in people’s lives is more than theoretical. Borders unite and divide they have become mobile and individualized, letting some move around freely and restricting access to others."
The Aquitaine-Euskadi Euroregion has launched a thematic call for projects in the areas of "Culture, Education, Multilingualism, Sport and Youth".
2015 marks the 500th anniversary of the alliance between Mulhouse and the Swiss Confederation. An occasion to throw light on the strength of the historical links as the roots of today’s cross-border cooperation and to celebrate the event by making 2015 "The year of Switzerland in Mulhouse".
To celebrate the 25th birthday of Interreg this year, a competition "Love without borders" has been launched by the European Commission's Regional Policy DG.
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.
This year of 2014 has been a difficult one for "Greater Geneva".
On 27 October 2014, the two member institutions of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), set up in 2011 by the Pyrénées Atlantiques Department and the Government of Aragon, inaugurated the Espace Pourtalet Centre, the first concrete result of the work carried out by the EGTC. Located in a converted former Spanish customs house, this new facility comprises a cross-border snow-clearing centre and a cross-border resource centre.
On 4-7 November 2014, in Arras, Lille and Mons, the BRIT's 14th international conference1 was held. The aim was to contribute, in a cross-disciplinary approach, to collective reflections on innovations related to border and cross-border dynamics.
The European Commission’s representation in France and France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development are presenting, within the framework of their strategic partnership, the exhibition “BORDERLINE: the frontiers of peace” by the Italian photographer Valerio Vincenzo.
With its international borders with Switzerland and Italy, the department of Haute-Savoie, which has been a member of the MOT since 2012, cooperates with the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais, as well as the Val d’Aoste autonomous region, in areas such as transport, territorial development, tourism, education, culture and sport.
The Geneva Games were started in 1940 to enable Swiss sportsmen and -women to take part in international level competitions in spite of the war.
The Jura Arc Cross-Border Forum is an independent grassroots movement that was founded on 23 January 2007 in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland.
In the context of the 2014-2020 programming period, the CECICN1, of which the MOT is a member, in December 2013 officially submitted two contributions to the European Union’s DG REGIO and DG MARKT in order to prepare an upcoming meeting at European level.
On 4 December, the MOT’s Chairman, Michel Delebarre*, and the MOT team took part in a hearing at the National Assembly conducted by Philip Cordery, Chairman of the parliamentary study group on cross-border cooperation, along with numerous French MPs for border areas.
