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No. 59 - May 2010

Stefan Toscani The SaarMoselle Eurodistrict takes off! Minister of the interior After intensive preparation, the and European affairs SaarMoselle Eurodistrict was of officially established on 6 May 2010 () in Saarbrücken. Taking the form of an EGTC, it will broaden and facilitate cooperation between the partners of the SaarMoselle Was it by chance that conurbation, which has 600,000 Robert Schuman, the father inhabitants. of Europe, came from a "seam" region located at Welcomed by Pierre Lellouche, French the heart of the European continent? Probably secretary of state for European affairs, not. Today, as at the time, the common historical and Stephan Toscani, Saarland heritage represents the future prospect of minister of the interior and European Europe as he described it in his declaration of 9 affairs, a large number of elected M60May, 60 years ago. FShFor Schuman, bthboth a representatives, regional figures and Lorrainer and a Luxemburger, the common citizens assembled in Saarbrücken’s Charlotte Britz welcomed minister Pierre Lellouche at cross-border life, like the dividing effect of the official launch ceremony on 6 May in Saarbrücken. French-German garden to bring the borders, was a day-to-day reality. From this Eurodistrict into being. historical knowledge was born a "small Europe" public transport. under the name "SaarLorLux Grande Region". For Charlotte Britz, mayor of Saarbrücken Pierre Lellouche took advantage of this visit The region, with its constituent partners in and new president of the EGTC, "The to the border to meet a delegation from the (Walloon region and German-language is still just a very abstract border workers defence committee, and community), , Luxemburg, Saarland and concept, too distant from its citizens, too Rhineland-Palatinate, is unique in Europe in its bureaucratic and too paternalistic with discussed some highly practical issues with diversity. This uncommon nature is a regard to its member states. Europe can them, for example the lack of mutual consequence of the very broad societal, convince only through actions at regional recognition of levels of invalidity between economic and political roots through which the level, the living and working spaces of its and Germany (a French doctor in common integration of Europe takes concrete citizens. With the Eurodistrict, the municipal France recognizes 100% invalidity, whereas form in the Grande Region. level will make its contribution to European that is not the case on the German side). Saarland currently holds the presidency of the integration". Pierre Lellouche promised to attempt to "find an amicable settlement so that the 12th Summit of the Grande Region, which is the The event was an opportunity to present the assessments of French doctors are principal gathering of the political leaders in many initiatives of the Eurodistrict. In recognized In Germany". In other matters, regional cross-border cooperation. This federal addition to the projects already implemented the projected "cross-border centre" within Land demonstrates innovation in the practical by the association Zukunft SaarMoselle organization of the cross-border territory. For this Avenir, such as the "Warndt Weekend", the Saarbrücken court of first instance was it can be considered as the most French and - "Velo SaarMoselle" and the museum judged to be "exemplary" and could be according to the conception of Robert Schuman brochure "Ticket", these included the web added to the proposals being prepared by - the most European of the German Länder. guide to cross-border leisure activities, the the French parliamentary commission on The current projects on our agenda at the "Fire Road" and the Way of St. James of cross-border issues. The final report of this summit have been designed to improve the Compostella*. Other projects of the commission should be ready by June. quality of life of the inhabitants of the region in Eurodistrict cover the topics of health and * Further information: www.saarmoselle.fr practical terms. The Border Worker Task Force transport, with as strong point the is an example. Its objective is to increase management of emergencies and local mobility in the cross-border employment market and identify legal and political solutions to the problems encountered by the individuals concerned. A very large number of Europe’s cross-border workers live in the Grande Region: Launching of a European network, the CECICN 200,000 persons there cross a national border every day to go to work in a neighbouring country. The Conference of European Cross- where "the European identity of the citizens The cross-border regions develop in particular border and Interregional City Networks is being forged". (CECICN) was officially launched on 23 where the inhabitants, crossing the borders, can One of the objectives of the CECICN is to meet each other. In this regard, it is mainly the April 2010 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where its head office is located. become a preferred contact organization for local level that provides proximity and contact. A the on territorial few days ago the - Eurodistrict This conference brings together more than cooperation issues impacting cities within the established an EGTC to give itself one of the 500 cities and towns, with a total population framework of the post-2013 cohesion policy, most effective legal instruments provided at of more than 200 million, located in in a similar manner to the role of the AEBR present by the European Union. It is the first European border spaces. The six founding for border and cross-border regions. time that Saarland is participating in an EGTC. networks are the RIET (Iberian cross-border The new body will organize Saar-Moselle cross- entity network), the MOT, the CAAC The conference also intends to promote new border cooperation between Saarland and (Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities), the cross-border and interregional cooperation Lorraine municipalities with a more practical FAICT (Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities actions in key areas such as sustainable emphasis and will be able to overcome the and Towns), Medcities and the UBC (Union development, economic development and administrative obstacles. of Baltic Cities). social and cultural cohesion. It will also be I consider that this new flexibility will be of great able to en cour age e xc ha nge of ex peri en ce value, and I hope that our border "laboratory" will According to Xosé Sanchez Bugallo, mayor and good practices between the cities and lead to the formation of as many EGTCs as of Santiago de Compostela, who was the member networks in order to bring possible. Robert Schuman knew it: "Europe will appointed to the rotating presidency of the European city-dwellers closer to European be made by practical achievements". It is up to conference for the first two years, the cities institutions. us, the new generation of European politicians, located on the peripheries and on the to transmit the heritage of Robert Schuman with borders of the European Union are, more courage to the 21st century and ensure its than any other space, places of proximity evolution. No. 59 - May 2010

MOT events The balance sheet of Pyrénées-Atlantiques - Gipuzkoa cooperation Conference and AGM In the Basque country, on the French- Spanish border, the Diputation de Pierre L ell ouch e, secretfttftary of state for Gipuzkoa and the Conseil général des European affairs, and Michel Mercier, Pyrénées-Atlantiques have drawn up minister of the rural space and spatial the balance sheet of their planning, will take part in the conference collaboration since the signature of organized by the MOT on 2 June in their cooperation agreement in April Paris on the topic "organization and 2005. funding of cross-border cooperation in Europe". Meeting to draw up this balance sheet, Inaki Galdos, Gipuzkoa’s officer for Fabienne Keller, senator for the Bas- external action, and Jean-Jacques Rhin department, MP commissioned by Lasserre, vice-president of the Conseil these t wo mi ni s ters on cross-bdborder général on the French side, affirmed issues, and Marie-Thérèse Sanchez- their determination to pursue the joint Schmid, MEP, will also attend in order to work, while emphasizing the need to present the initial measures identified by Cross-border children’s holidays at Zarautz (Gipuzkoa) in 2009 cooperate with the other cross-border the parliamentary report expected at the organizations of the territory, such as the end of June. This report is being Basque Eurocity and the Euroregional Conference. prepared with Etienne Blanc, MP for the Ain. The balance sheet after five years appears to be very positive. The agreement has given impetus and structure to cooperation and has emphasized six areas: social policy, environment, economic The conference on 2 June and the AGM development, infrastructure and transport, , and culture. The cooperation of MOT on 3 June will be chaired by methodology has been based on topic-centred working groups between the departments concerned Mich el D el eb arre, MOT presid ent , and the setting-up of a cross-border technical unit. former minister of state, and MP and mayor of Dunkirk. A number of projects in the territory have been initiated or strengthened, such as the establishment of cross-border children’s holidays, the production of a white paper on the organization of sport in www.espaces-transfrontaliers.eu Gipuzkoa and Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the upcoming opening of a website on cross-border sport* for the promotion of cross-border sporting collaborations, a cross-border coastal trail, an Interreg The results of the Lorea project on oceanography, and a number of actions related to social policy, for example a trilingual baby guide to the rights and obligations of Spanish parents resident in France (and vice URBACT EGTC project versa) and meetings on the management of handicap. The final conference of the URBACT The balance sheet was also an opportunit y to list the territory-specific difficulties encountered every EGTC (Expertising Governance for day by the teams. In first place appears the poor knowledge by the technicians of the neighbouring Transfrontier Conurbations) project was language and administrative structure. A recurrent obstacle in the project approach is the transition held in Esztergom, Hungary, on 6 and 7 from the experience-sharing phase to that of practical actions and projects. Adjustment to turnover of May 2010. This project, guided by the technical personnel is another issue in improving cooperation. MOT as lead partner, has networked This assessment, very positive while remaining objective about the difficulties encountered, is six cross-border conurbations in accompanied by new political impetus. The new agreement for 2011-2016, to be prepared by the Europe since November 2008 on the end of the year, will be the occasion to define new rules in order to benefit from this first experience. topic of governance. New cooperation topics have already been identified, such as civil defence and emergency services, collaboration between archives and cooperation on attention models for persons with Alzheimer’s In liaison with European institutions, the disease. participants were able to discuss the * www. transpyresport. com results of the project, judged very positive, and the follow-up that they HEALTH NOTE: On 27 May, under the aegis of the Conférence Atlantique Transpyrénées**, a cooperation would like to implement for it. A leaflet agreement on emergency medical assistance was signed between the Centre hospitalier de la Côte basque summarizing these results has been (Basque coast hospital) and Osakidetza, the Basque health service. For many years the Bayonne SAMU-SMUR emergency services have been working with their Basque counterpart Osakidetza in the field of emergencies. published ; it is available on request from the MOT and on the project website. ** Members: regional coucil, Basque government, department council, Diputation de Gipuzkoa, the state, Council of Basque country elected representatives. www.urbact.eu/egtc

Press Review In brief

Informal health council: Madrid reopens the debate on cross-border health care, Europe Information Committee of the Regions Service, 26 April – "[…] Spain submitted a compromise document to the ministers of health meeting in and EGTC Madrid on 22 and 23 April in order to push forward the discussions." The Committee of the Regions, in liaison Environment: Brittany at the heart of two new France (Manche) - England cooperation projects!, with the European Commission and the Newspress, 22 April – www.newspress.fr EU presidencies, has launched a Neighbouring France will have its eco-neighbourhood before Geneva, La Tribune de Genève, 30 European consultation on cross-border April – "Kick-off of a cross-border energy policy. [… At] the French-Swiss meeting held yesterday in cooperation, targeting cities and regions. Archamps on the topic of the energy challenges of the France-Vaud-Geneva conurbation." The consultation kicked off on 3 May 2010 at a conference in Cáceres, Spain, A revolution for border workers expected in June with the binational mobile phone..., Le Dauphiné on the EGTC, in which the MOT took libéré, 4 May – "[…] most people who spend time on both sides of the border have two telephones, one part. Swiss, the other French […]. A long-running story, the cross-border plan is going to arrive." The results of the consultation, planned Border worker pensions at last boosted!, Front@ligne, 7 May – "The European cross-border grouping to continue until 20 July, will be used as a had taken action to persuade the French and European authorities that border workers who have had part of basis for discussion on the 2011 review their career in France and the other in the European Union or Switzerland should no longer be penalized of the European regulation on the EGTC, when their French pension is calculated. These steps have resulted in a new circular." the European instrument of territorial Televisió de Catalunya continues to be received in Northern Catalonia thanks to DTT, Lettre de la cooperation. They will also be presented Casa de la Generalitat de Catalunya a Perpinyà, May-June – "The minister of culture and the media of the at a Committee of the Regions workshop Generalitat, Joan-Manuel Tresseras, held an information session during which he particularly highlighted the at the 2010 OPEN DAYS on the EGTC. first reception by DTT of the four channels of Televisió de Catalunya [...] in almost the whole of northern www.cor.europa.eu/egtc Catalonia." – Note: The MOT worked with local partners to reach this solution.

© Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière - 38 rue des Bourdonnais 75001 Paris France - Photos: DR Subscription: www.espaces-transfrontaliers.eu - Director of publication: Dr. Hans-Günther Clev – Edited by: Domitille Ayral