No The 9 MOT Guides Observation of cross-border territories Editorial André Rossinot, mayor of Nancy, president of the Communauté urbaine du Grand Nancy, vice-president of the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière In 2014, France and the rest of Europe have an appointment with history. As this year opens the cycle of commemoration of the centenary of Table of the Great War and the continuing duty of remembrance of a conflict that left lasting physical and emotional scars on our continent, in Contents May 500 million Europeans will be called upon to elect their new common parliament. Towards multi-level observation of At a time when populism in various forms and cross-border Europe is a daily the temptation to reject Europe are on the rise, territories ......................... p. 3 reality for many it is up to us collectively to mobilise ourselves, to defend our ideal while reinventing it. What is cross-border citizens who, with statistical a great sense of 200,000 people cross a national border observation? .................. p. 4 freedom, put it every day in the Greater Region (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France) to go to work. Development of into practice in These movements generate a shared job observation the cross-border market and instil habits that are spreading gradually to training, trading, leisure activities, procedures on territories. culture and other areas. French borders ............. p. 6 However, European policies are still in many ways out of phase with In France, an this experience and contribute to a feeling of distance or even lack experimental of understanding between the European Union and its citizens. approach at national level ................. p. 9 Consequently it is urgent to change approach by encouraging the development of shared cross-border observation in order to obtain The political better knowledge and understanding of today’s territorial realities. issues ............................. p. 11 In 2010, on the initiative of the DATAR and implemented by the Field Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT) and the Fédération experiences ................ p. 15 Nationale des Agences d’Urbanisme (FNAU), an experiment was conducted on statistical observation of cross-border territories. On the occasion of the presentation of the report on this study in Nancy on 10 December 2012, a call was launched to continue this work and to undertake effective coordination of cross-border observation means and ambitions between France and its European neighbours. Now is the time for action! Printed March 15th, 2014 Towards multi-level observation of cross-border By Jean Peyrony, territories director general of the MOT AT LOCAL LEVEL © Google 2014, CNES/Spot Image © Google 2014, The purpose of cooperation is to develop services for the benefit of the cross- border populations; observation is a prerequisite, as for any type of territory, in order to provide a common understanding of the issues. This guide reveals the rich variety of approaches developed to this end over more than twenty years in the cross-border territories. The European territorial cooperation programmes (Interreg) have co-funded AT EUROPEAN LEVEL these approaches. It is sometimes The cross-border territories, claimed that enough studies have been laboratories of European integration, The European level will not be able to carried out. As a new generation of compile cross-border databases in the European programmes is being launched, are at the heart of European short or medium term. However, it shall several voices are raised here advocating community policies: the EU 2020 coordinate and record the initiatives of the continuation of this support for strategy, the single market, territorial observation, policy impact assessment cross-border observation. Conurbations, and forecasting in the cross-border nature parks, Euroregions, sea bassins cohesion. The European Union territories. are among the types of territory which, must consequently pay greater on the basis of observation, will be able Our publication reveals what the to implement cross-border development attention to them! partners are hoping for: the DG REGIO, strategies within the framework of the as coordinator of regional and urban integrated approach promoted by the new policy, must better integrate cross- regulations. provide evidence of this emergence of border issues and reinforce the place of awareness. shared knowledge in cooperation. The AT NATIONAL LEVEL networking of cross-border territories The national strategic reference undertaking shared knowledge initiatives However, territorial statistics are in many frameworks for the 2007-2013 period must be supported by the interregional cases the responsibility of the national included cooperation only as an programmes, with ESPON in the front line. level. The compilation of cross-border option. For the 2014-2020 period, the databases requires coordinated work by regulations stipulate that the national the statistics institutes across the border, partnership agreements2 systematically with political coordination by the spatial cover cooperation. This necessitates planning authorities. An emblematic coordination between States, which example is that of worker flows1. The provides an opportunity to boost study conducted by the MOT and the cross-border observation on each 1 See page 5. FNAU for the DATAR, and its follow-up border, in synergy with regional and 2 Document providing the framework for the program- conducted with the neighbouring states, local partners. ming of European funds for each Member State. The MOT Guides 3 What is cross-border statistical observation? By Olivier Denert, secretary general of the MOT After having suffered for a long time from a low level of attention from central governments, cross-border territories are increasingly taking a place at the heart of national and European development processes. and spatial planning policies in the all sorts of differentials: regulations territories. and laws, economic and employment Over the last ten years or so, cross- processes, cultures, etc. border territories have attracted growing Cross-border territorial interest from political decision-makers. WHAT IS OBSERVED? For a long time considered as margins, strategies cannot be defensive buffer zones or dead ends, devised based on The definition of the scope of cross-border territories were observed on observation is related to that of the the basis of mapping that only went up intuitions. They require object under observation. Cross-border to the line of the frontier, as if the “other tangible information which territories are functional territories. side” did not exist, like the ends of the should be built up across Their institutionalisation, in the form of earth on medieval maps. cross-border governance, is increasingly Each different according to the the observation processes. perceived as a necessity by the political characteristics of the border on which and socioeconomic forces. they are located, cross-border territories From this operational perspective, the still feed into many national mental observation of cross-border territories QUANTITATIVE AND projections and preconceptions which has its background in the need to know QUALITATIVE OBSERVATION make the development of projects and understand the workings of these complicated. The observation of these atypical spaces, located on the edges The observation of cross-border areas is therefore particularly meaningful of national systems and within which territories is first of all quantitative: for the implementation of effective sector the presence of a border generates it is based on statistical systems, collection procedures and national indicators, the differences in which with regard to definition, survey period and geographical resolution render cross- TERRITORIES AT THE HEART OF border comparisons very complicated. DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES: Fixed within their national territories, these systems too often neglect cross- – At local level, they are directly – At national level, with the gradual border flows, even though such flows concerned by the territorial projects, emergence of a cross-border policy. outline new functional spaces. issues and obstacles. – At the European level, with cross- – At regional level, many development border cooperation now ring-fenced Two major categories of object can be processes are at work, with funding at the heart of territorial cooperation. observed: that is often provided by the regions. – material and countable cross-border flows which irrigate the cross-border territories1, 4 – ‘stocks’, leading to comparison of an observation process, preferably difficulties that have to be overcome in a given object on either side of the permanent, depends on the decision- the observation process. border2. makers becoming aware of its usefulness. Furthermore, although The observation must also be qualitative: many observation procedures have analysis of cooperation procedures, been funded by European programmes, multi-criterion analysis of cross-border there is a real risk that their funding projects and issues, analysis of political, will be more difficult in the next administrative and cultural systems programming period3. which meet at the border and which have The obstacles are also technical: access 1 Workers, students, residents, patients, tourists, financial flows, etc. to be matched. to data on either side of the border is one 2 Demographic structure, economy, employment, quality of the stumbling blocks in the procedures.