News
Aachen Treaty: the editorial of Nathalie Loiseau, French minister of european affairs
February 2019
On 22 January in Aachen, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron signed a new treaty on cooperation and integration between Germany and France.
"In parallel, we adopted a declaration that sets out 15 priority projects designed to implement the treaty. Chapter IV of the Aachen Treaty – a chapter which the MOT helped to draft – is entirely devoted to cross-border and regional cooperation.
Article 14 provides for the setting-up of a Cross-Border Cooperation Committee that will provide a framework for the dialogue that is essential for all of the players concerned. This committee will monitor the implementation of projects already listed and will identify others in the future.
It will be able to propose to the national public authorities to take – in compliance with their constitutional rules – the measures needed for the better integration of territories. The different projects must be carried out with involvement from all of the stakeholders, and the support of private-sector players will be very precious. This first model, designed for the benefit of Alsace, the Moselle and the neighbouring Länder, can serve as a reference elsewhere.
By taking account of the specificity of territories and responding to the aspirations of the local population in this way, the government is encouraging the deepening of cross-border cooperation, which, day by day, is becoming a major component of European construction."
Read the article: "The Aachen Treaty: the cross-border dimension given full recognition"
Photo: J. Litvine MEAE
Back to list
