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OECD/DG REGIO project: focus on northern Lorraine and its border with Luxembourg
March 2025
Following publication of the final report and blueprints for each pilot site in the ‘Building more resilient cross-border regions’ project run by the OECD and DG REGIO, the Nord Lorrain Metropolitan Border Pole gives us its views on the work carried out, its contributions and the specific needs of the territory which is one of the pilot sites.
Background
In 2023, the OECD and DG REGIO launched a pilot project entitled ‘Building more resilient cross-border regions’, the results and final report of which were published in December 2024. This project involved five pilot sites* located on European borders, selected following a call for expressions of interest. This work also led to the publication of a ‘blueprint’ for each site, which is now available online on the OECD website. To find out more, click here.
Three of these pilot sites are located on the French borders and are part of the MOT network: the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis, the Alzette-Belval EGTC and the Hôpital de Cerdagne EGTC.
Focus on Northern Lorraine and its border with Luxembourg
‘We responded to DG REGIO's call for expressions of interest with a tripartite application involving the Alzette Belval EGTC, a Franco-Luxembourg cross-border cooperation body, the Pôle Métropolitain Frontalier du Nord Lorrain, a joint association whose members are French inter-municipalities, and PRO-SUD, a Luxembourg association of municipalities. Each bid partner carries out cross-border actions at its own level. We shared a diagnosis: even though our territorial scales are different, we share common challenges. The work carried out with the OECD has given us an overall view of the situation on the Franco-Luxembourg border and strengthened the exchanges and synergies between our structures.
Specific features of the region:
‘There is a strong asymmetry between Northern Lorraine and Luxembourg, with a steady rise in cross-border work over many years. The Grand Duchy's development extends beyond its borders into neighbouring countries, and the impact of the large presence of cross-border workers is particularly noticeable in the north of Lorraine, with numerous consequences for mobility, housing prices, the availability of skills, public services, access to resources and regional planning, as well as health in a context of medical desertification. Although these problems are encountered by other areas, the proximity of the Luxembourg border makes them more acute. To deal with them, Franco-Luxembourg cross-border cooperation needs to be strengthened, with specific funding solutions to be devised to co-finance both cooperation and cross-border investments’.
Aftermath:
‘We hope that the report will enable elected representatives but also higher levels, in particular the French and Luxembourg states, to support and carry forward the joint initiatives that we will propose for the implementation of the action plan formalised by the OECD.’
Photo : Pôle Métropolitain Frontalier du Nord Lorrain
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