News

The Moselle wishes to become a "Eurodepartment"

At the instigation of their President, Patrick Weiten, the Department’s elected representatives, in the presence of a delegation from Saarland’s Landtag led by its President, Stephan Toscani, adopted a report aimed at making the Moselle “the French Eurodepartment”. This vote was preceded by an address for the first time ever by a foreign politician to the Departmental Assembly meeting in plenary session. Stephan Toscani recalled the pioneering role played by the Moselle and Saarland in local-level Franco-German cooperation and reaffirmed their desire to continue playing this role. The Moselle and Saarland are thus planning to use the opportunities provided by the Aachen Treaty, and are asking to participate in the Cross-Border Cooperation Committee that it has set up. Patrick Weiten and Stephan Toscani have confirmed their position in a letter to President Macron and Chancellor Merkel.

On the basis of its commitment to cross-border cooperation attested by its excellent relations with Saarland, and in view of its specific position at the heart of the Greater Region, the Moselle Department has decided to make use of the “right to differentiation” laid out in the draft constitutional reform to demand an expansion of its competences. It is asking to be lead partner, in coordination with the Government, for cross-border cooperation, and to have shared competences with the national education authority in order to encourage multilingualism. It also wishes to have competences in the area of tourism and economic attractiveness, and to be involved in the training of recipients of the RSA income support benefit in collaboration with the Region. This initiative should enable it to remain a major department within the Grand Est Region, while taking account of its border territory specificity.