News

A conference highlights the challenges of France-Luxembourg cooperation

With more than 70 participants, elected representatives and technicians from northern Lorraine and the Greater Region, it was structured around three round tables:

• The first, entitled "Ageing well in cross-border territories", addressed the issues linked to demographic changes in the cross-border territory, ageing, and the problems regarding access to rights and access to healthcare across the border.
  
  
• The second, "Sobriety in cross-border territories", dealt with the thorny issue of preserving cross-border resources and common goods (water, energy, food, land) in a territory with strong demographic and economic growth (mainly on the Luxembourgian side).
  
  
• The last session, "Towards balanced territorial development", looked at ways of meeting these territorial demands. It provided an opportunity to hear the conflicting points of view on this aspect, between the co-financing of projects, overall financial compensation or compensation on a case-by-case basis, the need for a cross-border territory project, and individual responsibility.

The day highlighted the awareness that has been raised in recent years on both sides of the border regarding the cross-border challenges at work, and the efforts made to improve cooperation and work together. However, in view of the urgent need for action, the local players have called for greater mobilisation of the State on the French side, and the president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle departmental council has launched an appeal to define together the priority political and cross-border guidelines for demographic, ecological and economic transitions.