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A look back at the ReCMA symposium held on September 14th and 15th: Maritime cooperation in the spotlight
October 2023
On September 14th and 15th, 2023, the Regional Cooperation in Maritime Areas (ReCMA) symposium was held, organized by the Territories, Cities, Environment & Society (TVES) laboratory of the University of Lille and the MOT. The operational and academic approaches of the various speakers provided an overview of cooperation in the maritime basins bordering France.
The conference opened with a presentation by Mireille Hingrez-Cereda (read the editorial) and Christophe Caillier, representing the Pas-de-Calais department, on the Straits Committee, a flexible multilateral cooperation framework extending cross-border cooperation to local players from eight local authorities in four different countries.
The researchers' presentations provided keys to understanding the various aspects of post-Brexit Franco-British cooperation: Elias Msaddek and Matteo Nicolini offered analyses of the cultural and historical issues for the former, and legal and geographical issues for the latter, engendered by the 2016 referendum campaign and its outcome. Camille Martel's presentation depicted the landscape of maritime rescue cooperation in the English Channel, which must take into account both humanitarian rules and the guidelines set by national migration policies. Robin Thillard and Nathan Rizzuto's presentation on cross-Channel cooperation initiatives provided an opportunity to discuss the new opportunities and challenges facing this area.
For each sea basin, the difficulties and prospects for cooperation were detailed by the speakers, and prompted discussions on the strategies to be adopted. Gemma Aubarell from the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), Jean-Pierre Girod and Brigitte Lavigne from CESER Atlantique, respectively outlined the benefits of developing a macro-regional strategy for the Mediterranean and Atlantic areas. Fédérique Turbout completed the overview by presenting the challenges and limits of transnational cooperation in the Caribbean.
The colloquium concluded with two round tables led by the MOT, each bringing together a panel of speakers from professional circles (local and regional players, government representatives, the Commission's DG MARE and REGIO, CPMR) and from various maritime spheres. The first session discussed the scales of intervention in cross-border maritime cooperation, and in particular the role of regions and local authorities, such as Corsica, represented by Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis. The second focused on the ecological transition, and questioned the relevance of the emerging notion of "functional zone" for cross-border maritime spaces, shared coastlines and straits in particular, notably within the framework of Interreg programs.
Find the day's presentations on the symposium website: https://recma.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/1
The MOT will soon be producing a publication on this topic.
Photo : iStock / Erik V.
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