Dunkirk-West Vlaanderen-Côte d'Opale

Dunkirk-West Vlaanderen-Côte d'Opale

Countries: Belgium , France
Regions concerned: France: Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Belgium: Flemish region, province of West Flanders

This stretch of coastline covering 7000 square kilometres reaches from the Belgian province of West Vlaanderen to the French territory of “Flandre-Dunkerque-Côte d’Opale”. It comprises around 540 communes and 2 million inhabitants.

In this region, cross-border cooperation was first of all focused on tourism, the environment, and culture, before gradually expanding to include other fields such as health, transport and the labour market. This cooperation is undertaken within a context of marked volunteerism, and is founded upon the crucible of a shared culture.

Cooperation in the area has a long history. It took a more concrete form in 2005 with the creation of the West Vlaanderen / Flandre-Dunkerque-Côte d’Opale cross-border platform, which was the first step in establishing an institutional framework. This platform then evolved to form an EGTC in April 2009, representing the culmination of this cooperation. Its seat is located in Dunkirk and it is made up of 13 authorities and partners.