A Cross-Border Strategy for the Franco-Belgian Ardennes

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A cross-border strategy for the Franco-Belgian Ardennes

In May 2019, Ardenne Métropole and more or less long-term cross-border the Belgian association of actions. More specifically, the work municipalities Idelux embarked on the underway should help to improve drawing-up of a “Strategic plan for the Franco-Belgian dialogue with respect to development of the cross-border the Ardennes, to raise the territory’s Boris Ravignon territory of the Franco-Belgian profile within the Grand Est Region and Ardennes”. This initiative, which comes Wallonia, and to jointly prepare for the Mayor of Charleville- in the wake of the incorporation of the European funds’ 2021-2027 Mézières and President of Ardenne Métropole Ardennes into the Grand Est Region in programming period. At a more 2015, and above all the signature of operational level, the aim is to put in the Ardennes Compact on 15 March place a permanent mechanism for cross- “One of the main features of the French department 2019, an agreement that intends “to border forward-looking reflection, to of the Ardennes is without doubt its proximity to Belgium. This proximity is geographical, of course, make the Ardennes a department of the pinpoint different possible areas for but also cultural, historical, economic and societal. future”, demonstrates the desire of cross-border development, and to Having been born here, in Charleville-Mézières, this local players to place the issue of cross- thereby help with the development of intimate connection always seemed self-evident to border co-development at the heart of relevant projects. This exercise, which me: what is more natural for an inhabitant of Sedan, their concerns. Like other territories in is being carried out jointly by the MOT Givet or Charleville-Mézières than to cross the border the region that have been part of the and Idelux, notably comprises a series to visit their ‘cousins’ in Dinant, Namur, Bouillon or cross-border dynamic for several years, of interviews with the local players and Libramont? In fact, I had to (briefly…) leave the this strategic plan seeks to be a tool to three work-focused workshops. It is due Ardennes to really grasp how self-evident it is and assist forward-looking decision-making to be completed in early 2020. to fully appreciate this. and a concrete roadmap to identify I know that we are not the only ones to live in a cross-border territory, but millions of other Europeans, to speak of our continent alone, do not have this good fortune. For we are very fortunate in this, without any doubt! But I have the impression that, with a few rare exceptions, we still find it very difficult to take advantage of this good fortune and to make the most, all together, of the opportunities that it can offer. This is the purpose of the strategic plan for the development of the Franco-Belgian Ardennes cross-border territory that the MOT and Idelux are jointly working on. Tourism, training, healthcare, territorial facilities, culture, commerce, security, higher education, services to the population, and so on: the potential areas for action are huge. Some have already given rise to concrete initiatives, but we must and can do better. Yours The Place Ducale in Charleville-Mézières. cross-borderly…” EVENTS The Ardennes Department – a "Metropolitan cross-border cooperation" European and cross- Register for the MOT network’s next technical day, to be held in Besançon border location Noël Bourgeois, President of the Ardennes Departmental Council (on (France) on 25 September 2019, in the right) and Denis Mathen, Governor of the Province of Namur partnership with the Greater Besançon Conurbation Community. Making the most of its - the large-capacity river port “Albatros” EEIG, the only cross- Programme and registration [FR] European location at Givet on the Meuse, which is border structure devoted to Registration is now open for With its 150 km-long border linked to the ports of Liège and disabled people. the European Week of Regions with Belgium, the Ardennes the North Sea. An "Ardennes Compact" and Cities, 7-10 October 2019 in territory aims to become a - the Ardennes-Étienne Riché Signed in March 2019 by the Brussels: focus on the strategic cross-border Aerodrome, which is a partner Government and the main workshops devoted to cross- multimodal platform for the of the Brussels South/Charleroi stakeholders in the Ardennes, border cooperation Grand Est Region and the East airport. including the Department, the The MOT is running a workshop on of Paris thanks to its transport Institutional partnerships Ardennes Compact aims to the energy transition: "No country is infrastructure: A member of the France- “make the Ardennes a an island: cross-border strategies for - the A34/A304 Reims- Wallonia-Vlaanderen Interreg department of the future”. a clean energy transition", on 8 Charleville-Charleroi motorway, programme and an observer Among its 71 action points, 4 October 2019. the new shorter and free member of the Greater Region, are cross-border in nature: It is making contributions in a section of the Rotterdam- the Ardennes Department is - Developing a rail public workshop run by DG REGIO "Better evidence on cross-border regions and Marseille route, as an also a member of the MOT and transport offer between Namur INTERREG impacts" and a workshop alternative to the congested A1 of the Grand Est Europe Bureau. and Reims via Givet and run by TEIN "Cross-Border Territories: and A31 routes. In addition to its cooperation Dinant; Crucial places for engaging citizens - the high-speed TGV-Est with the Walloon regional and - Improving public transport for the future of Europe". (Paris–Charleville/Sedan), provincial authorities, it links from the Ardennes to Other workshops to be noted on: boosted by the possible participates in the task force of Belgium and Luxembourg; - the ECBM tool and "b-solutions" reconnection to the Belgian rail the “Essaimage” (“Spin-Off”) - Hosting Belgian junior projects network via the reopening of project of the Namur Province hospital doctors in the - qualifications and jobs - public services. the Givet-Dinant line, and the Economic Bureau and has been Ardennes; Calais-Metz-Basel line, one of part of the “Destination - Setting up a cross-border The other events the main Great Britain-Central Ardenne” EEIG since it was set information point. Europe rail freight corridors. up. It also supports the More info

"Competitiv'Eko" – Healthcare cooperation: concrete progress stimulating innovation Framework agreement with opens up many possibilities. It years in this territory. Switzerland and Luxembourg will facilitate access for French The agreement provides easier The results of this project were patients to Swiss hospitals and On 20 June 2019, the Senate access to the nearest and most presented on 16 May 2019 in healthcare professionals, and adopted the bill enabling the appropriate medical and Biarritz. Launched in 2016, it has vice versa. It is a major step framework agreement on cross- technical facilities, in order to built a network of economic forward for healthcare border healthcare cooperation ensure patients receive optimum players to stimulate businesses’ cooperation that will benefit all with Switzerland and Luxembourg treatment. It covers three areas innovation and competitiveness the inhabitants of border areas.” to be approved. This legislation of healthcare (cardiological across three neighbouring More info territories: Euskadi, Navarra and extends to Switzerland and emergencies, emergencies Aquitaine. Three cross-border Luxembourg the framework SaarMoselle: signature of the involving cases of multiple innovation hubs have been agreement already in place with "Mosar" agreement trauma, and neurosurgical Belgium, Germany and Spain. It treatment), and is the first step created, bringing together 87 On 12 June 2019, sixteen French has been keenly awaited, towards the creation of a “cross- businesses, as well as clusters and and German partners signed the particularly in the Greater Geneva border healthcare access area”, technology and training centres. "Mosar" agreement, a cross- area, which is experiencing which was proposed by the An innovation platform linking six border healthcare agreement that medical workforce problems, a SaarMoselle Eurodistrict in 2015, healthcare institutions spread officialises the cooperation shortage of doctors and high but which has proved difficult to across the three territories has between five hospitals in the turnover of healthcare staff. For put in place in all areas of also been set up. Moselle and Saarland: a step that Virginie Duby-Muller, MP for treatment. More info More info has been awaited for over four Haute-Savoie, “This agreement

2 - CROSS-BORDER NEWS N°151 EUROPE MOT NEWS NEWS Towards the The Commission has creation of a circulated orientation papers by border network of cross- In the context of the preparation border of its 2021-2027 programmes, DG REGIO has drawn up 38 Border observatories Orientation Papers (BOPs) for all of the EU’s land borders. Six of these On 26 June 2019, the General published following the DG REGIO, for its part, recalled BOPs relate to France’s borders. Commission for Territorial signature of the Aachen Treaty its aim of bringing European This is a major innovation: for the Equality (CGET) hosted, with by the CGET and the German programmes closer in line with first time, the Commission has support from the MOT, another ministry, in order to report on individual territories’ taken the steps to propose meeting of the Cross-Border the Franco-German experience development strategies,5 and strategic orientations for each Strategic Committee on and to extend its scope to announced the launch of an border ahead of the programming observation (CSC).1 Several Europe as a whole. The German initiative to draw up an process. institutions attended the ministry presented its priorities inventory of cross-border This new approach, which meeting: the European in the perspective of Germany’s observatories in Europe.6 corresponds to what the MOT Commission, the ESPON presidency of the EU in the 1 Set up on the initiative of the CGET, promotes in terms of strategies and programme, the German second half of 2020, and the the CSC brings together representatives governance, should serve as a basis Ministry of the Interior, pilot projects in the area of of the ministries in charge of spatial for constructive discussions Building and Community, the cross-border observation. planning for the territory of France and between cross-border regions and its neighbours, as well as their BBSR (Germany), INSEE,2 The CGET presented its the Commission. The BOPs set out statistical institutes. More info 2 the main features of and major representatives from "Crossroads of Observatories" NB: INSEE’s 2018 annual report Luxembourg, Switzerland and project, which aims to create a contains two pages devoted to cross- issues for each cross-border region. border territories. Italy, and several local cross- network of local observatories The resulting assessment is 3 The Greater Region Geographical 3 formulated with the aim of opening border observatories and in France and along France’s Information System, the Interregional up dialogue with all of the border region urban-planning borders. The cross-border Employment Observatory, GéoRhena, the agencies.4 observatories in North Lorraine OSTAJ (Jura Arc Cross-Border Statistical stakeholders in order to adopt the Observatory), the Greater Geneva Cross- new Interreg programmes, by the The meeting was an and Greater Geneva presented Border Observatory and the Pyrenees end of 2020 at the latest. opportunity to present the their experiences and Climate Change Observatory. 4 More info brochure "France-Germany: underscored their needs with Strasbourg, Pau-Bayonne, Longwy and Mulhouse. cross-border observation at the respect to cross-border 5 See article opposite. heart of Europe" that was observation. 6 More info "Fair distribution of taxes in trans-frontier areas" The National Territorial On 13 June 2019, Karl-Heinz revenues coming from cross- employment.” Cohesion Agency is taking shape Lambertz, Vice-President of border workers between the Faced with the “risk of the Council of Europe’s two sides of the borders The bill providing for the creation of the seeing this imbalance in Congress of Local and concerned has yet to be National Territorial Cohesion Agency was cross-border development Regional Authorities, resolved. […] In the adopted on 9 July in its final reading in the deteriorate further”, the presented a report entitled absence of a common Assemblée Nationale. The Agency will be report notably encourages “Fair distribution of taxes in approach, the response to operational from 1 January 2020. “Its action the local and regional trans-frontier areas”. It will this problem […] has given will primarily target, on the one hand, authorities of cross-border be submitted for adoption at rise to numerous bilateral territories characterised by geographical workers’ places of the 37th Congress session in agreements, […] and in constraints, demographic, economic, social or employment “to promote co- October. some cases, systems of fiscal environmental difficulties, or difficulties development as a common transfers […] have been regarding access to public services, with The report recalls that a goal” and “to contribute to adopted. […] In other cases, special attention focused on the areas third of European citizens the financing of public no agreement has been mentioned in article 1741 of the Treaty on the live in border regions and services in the workers’ concluded, with the result Functioning of the European Union, and, on that, “while many obstacles places of residence”. that the local and regional the other hand, innovative projects.” to cooperation have been authorities of the places of More info More info removed, the issue of the residence bear much higher fair distribution of tax 1 This article specifically cites “island, cross-border and costs than the places of mountain regions”. See the Treaty

CROSS-BORDER NEWS N°151 - 3 PRESS REVIEW Green light from Fiscal transfers: Greater Geneva Nice-Tende: "We will the Assemblée to "I'm asking for wants to accelerate its continue to run trains" bring Alsace back fairness" energy transition Nice Matin, 5 June “Philippe Tabarot, the regional to life Républicain lorrain, 26 June Dauphiné libéré, 28 June councillor [South Region] in charge "The Mayor of Metz, Dominique “Arnaud Leroy, Chairman of the Les Echos, 27 June of transport, affirms: ‘We want to Gros, has decided to take the ADEME [France’s environment and “The legislation gives the future save this line.’ This is in spite of lead in asking Luxembourg to energy agency] was in Greater ‘European territorial authority of the fact that the regional chamber redistribute part of cross-border Geneva. The objective: to come Alsace’ prerogatives notably in of auditors has recommended its workers’ income tax. […] French up with solutions to halve energy the areas of cross-border closure.” local elected representatives consumption by 2050.” cooperation and bilingualism. […] are betting on dialogue at There is no special status as for Second cross-border government level. This is the The children of Corsica, but a refound identity purpose of the letter co-signed 'cooperation and health- within the Grand Est Region: on by Dominique Gros and the cross-border workers Wednesday the Assemblée Mayor of Trier that was sent last care' days in Cerdanya Nationale approved on its first can no longer go to month to Emmanuel Macron and La Semaine, 12 juin reading a compromise bill on Angela Merkel. They are asking school in Geneva “On 14-15 June, the Cerdà Museum the new ‘European territorial in Puigcerdà (Catalonia) is hosting for a joint diplomatic initiative Le Messager, 27 June authority of Alsace’.” the second cross-border days to get things moving. ‘This “The administrative tribunal of devoted to cooperation in the area letter has caused a real stir,’ the Geneva Court of Justice has of healthcare. An initiative of the Cross-border confirms the Mayor of Metz. For rejected the appeal regarding European project Prospective the first time, the the schooling of the children of Transfrontalière Sanitaire et Sociale workers: why they Luxembourgers have understood cross-border workers. With a few (ProspectSASO – Cross-Border that the Germans are asking exceptions, they will therefore live in France but Healthcare and Social Forward themselves the same questions no longer be able to go to Planning), these days are aimed at as we are.’" school in Geneva.” work abroad healthcare professionals […].” Les Echos, 14 June “More and more French people are becoming cross-border Large increase in cross-border workers workers. They live in France and work in another country for salaries that are sometimes working in Switzerland and Luxembourg twice as high.” INSEE Première, No. 1755, June 2019. In 2015, more than 360,000 inhabitants of border areas in France French trains soon worked in a neighbouring country, near to the border. The economic dynamism of neighbouring countries such as Luxembourg, risk being blocked at Switzerland and Monaco, together with the salaries offered, have encouraged working-age people living in France’s border areas to go the Luxembourg and work there. https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4164642

border The following study has also just been published: Le Monde, 13 June “TER regional trains are not all "Les travailleurs frontaliers au Luxembourg et en Suisse : Emploi, equipped with the European Quotidien et Perceptions" ("Cross-border workers in Luxembourg and security system ERTMS that Switzerland: Jobs, Daily Life and Perceptions"), Pigeron-Piroth, I. / will be compulsory in the Wille, C. (publisher), 2019. http://www.uni-gr.eu/fr/chercheurs-et-enseignants/border-studies/unigr-cbs/recherche Grand Duchy from 1 January 2020.” These publications are available in the MOT’s documentary portal.

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Director of publication: Jean Peyrony Production: Domitille Ayral