A look back at the ‘Art of Cooperation’ conference in Budapest

The conference brought together nearly 400 participants from Interreg programmes, as well as a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from the Commission, the CoR, Member States and regions from across Europe. Several plenary sessions and workshops explored key topics for the 2027+ programming period, such as the territorial approach, citizen-led projects and overcoming barriers to cooperation.

Two workshops on the subject of obstacles also highlighted the convergence between Interreg projects and multi-level governance mechanisms such as bilateral treaties (for example, on the French borders: the Treaties of Aachen, the Quirinal and Barcelona), the horizontal and vertical interministerial coordination established in Germany, and the Nordic Council. Jean Peyrony, Managing Director of the MOT, highlighted the role of France and the MOT network in various initiatives, such as the Franco-Belgian parliamentary working group established in 2007, the “Budapest Platform”, which launched the debate on obstacles at European level, and the working group co-chaired by France and Luxembourg from 2015 onwards, which has now led to the FCBS proposal (Facilitating Cross-Border Solutions: a proposal for a European regulation on the resolution of cross-border obstacles), in parallel with DG REGIO’s “Cross-Border Review”.

The event provided an opportunity to adopt a Declaration on the future of Interreg, Interreg35, and to present the TEIN network’s position on the “Costs of non-Interreg”.
The 2024 EGTC Award was presented to the Eurodistrict SaarMoselle, a member of the MOT network, for its Kita Salut cross-border nursery project on the Franco-German border. More info: Click here to view our project sheet. Launch of the “European cross-border platform”: the European Committee of the Regions has officially launched the new European platform, which succeeds the EGTC platforms, to “bring together all actors in cross-border cooperation, from border towns and regions to EGTCs and Euroregions”. The aim is to provide a common space for cross-border stakeholders at European level, enabling them to discuss their shared needs, engage in dialogue with EU institutions, highlight the problems encountered and seek solutions at European level. The MOT is part of its Steering Committee alongside the AEBR and CESCI. More info here. Find the summaries of the Interreg workshops here:

Workshop Results 2023
Workshop: Assesment and selection procedures
Workshop: Practical aspects of IPA in the Cross-Border Cooperation context
Workshop: Challenges of the Interreg Next Programmes
Workshop: Integrated territorial development tools
Workshop: Small project funds
Workshop: Governance of the electronic management systems used in Interreg
Workshop: First Level Control in the new Programming period
Workshop: Simplified Cost Options

More info on the event: https://interreg.hu/https://budapest.cesci-net.eu/en/art-of-cooperation-2024/