Upper Rhine Council

Countries: Germany , France , Switzerland
Regions concerned: France – Alsace region
Germany – States of Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz
Switzerland – Cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Aargau, Jura and Solothurn

Presentation

Created in 1997 by convention, the Upper Rhine Council (Conseil Rhénan) brings together 71 French, German and Swiss elected representatives and aims to supervise the Upper Rhine Conference at the political level and develop national and regional political relations in the field of cross-border cooperation. It is a cross-border political body for dialogue and the exchange of information between elected representatives of the territory. Its actions cover the Upper Rhine region (21,500 square kilometres and 6 million inhabitants).

It is a tri-national “parliament" consisting of 71 elected officials from Alsace (26), Baden (26), Rhineland-Palatinate (8), and north-western Switzerland (11).

Its origins date back to the "Franco-German Elected Representatives’ Working Group” (which met between 1976 and 1991 to support at the work of the Upper Rhine Conference) and in the "Permanent meetings between the Regional Council of Alsace and the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg", which were held between 1991 and 1996.