Local, national and European stakeholders in the field of observation gather in Paris: a wide range of resources highlighted

February 2026

On 5 February 2026, a meeting of the working group on cross-border monitoring was held in Paris, organised as part of the MOT network in conjunction with the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion. Around thirty experts and stakeholders from cross-border regions discussed the available data and ongoing projects, emphasising the importance of producing national analyses of strategic border areas and of better sharing existing work.

Overview of current projects and publications

The first session focused on national and European developments in the field of border monitoring:

The ANCT presented its work on territorial analysis and the coordination of European cohesion policy, particularly Interreg. The Territorial Observatory continues to publish its reports (barometer, 2026 reports) and is preparing a national spatial planning strategy.
INSEE’s Cross-Border Statistics Unit shared its work on residential mobility, cross-border shopping behaviour and the integration of this data into the Melodi tool.

The MOT and the ANCT also discussed the meeting of the European local observatories held on 27–28 November 2025 in Brussels, focusing on the ACROSS project aimed at establishing a European data hub for border regions and harmonising indicators. The key challenges relate to the harmonisation of definitions, interoperability, data granularity and multi-level governance.

Local monitoring projects and cross-border "bassins de vie"

Several local initiatives presented their work:

The MOT also provided an update on other Interreg projects (Observ’Alp, GeoDataPyr, Datapass, ESPON CrossShop…), illustrating the strategic importance of observatories in informing public policy.

During the third session, the ANCT presented the “CrossGov” ESPON study and the MOT the “Expérimentation Bassins de vie transfrontaliers” study. The discussions focused on demographic and employment trends (ageing, migration, cross-border workers, remote working), confirming the importance of shared statistical tools for anticipating developments in cross-border functional areas.

European Network for Cross-Border Monitoring

At the end of the working group meeting, the annual meeting of the “European Network for Cross-Border Monitoring” was held, co-organised by ANCT, MOT, and BBSR (Germany). Some forty European representatives (from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, etc.) and institutions (DG REGIO, JRC, ESPON, OECD, CESCI, etc.) discussed ways to improve cross-border statistics and strengthen cooperation. Some highlights, presented by:

Joint Research Centre (JRC): presentation of the ACROSS project / Data Hub for border regions, featuring 20 indicators and an interactive map
OCDE: Local Data Portal covering 225,000 municipalities in 41 countries, with new tools (story maps, climate monitor)
ESPON programme: CrossGov Hub projects on governance in 85 cross-border regions, featuring atlases and thematic fact sheets, and CORE-IB, which includes 48 border profiles and 21 pan-European indicators to inform public policy
CESCI (Hungary): projet BorderLabs CE
BBSR (Germany): analysis of cross-border access to services in Germany, revealing significant disparities between urban and rural areas; presentation of the ‘Joint German-Polish Concept for the Future’, a non-binding strategic document intended to serve as a basis for fostering a collective dynamic
INSEE et CBS (Netherlands): data on cross-border payments and cross-border workers (as part of a study carried out by DG REGIO)
UniGR and the Interreg projects LATI and DIALOG: spatial planning and housing governance

The final discussion focused on strengthening cooperation through smaller working groups, joint projects and better dissemination of results, with data centralisation via ACROSS and increased use of Futurium to link the observatories.