Regional Development – Sustainability

The Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives was founded in 2009 according to the model of the French association Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière. The centre would like to make implementation of cross-border projects possible. It is supported on a national level and summarises the actors of the border areas. This way, it can promote a structured dialogue between the (national and European) authorities and between the local and regional actors.

The borders are omnipresent within the greater region. The differences (in the areas of economics, social matters, tax matters, real estate, etc.) that they create are frequent reasons for mobility. Since an increase of moves from Luxembourg to the border regions (Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lorraine or Wallonia) has been observed recently, this work tries to determine the most important reasons and consequences of this phenomenon with its many facets.

As part of a study on employment dynamics in the SaarLorLux Greater Region, this article analyses the employment and unemployment situation there and highlights the phenomenon of cross-border working that is rife there. As unemployment is high in certain areas in the region, exchanges have developed between countries in the form of cross-border working, which, although it creates jobs, raises complex issues on the taxation and social fronts.

We, most of the time, look on border as simple artefacts on the ground serving a variety of practical reasons and that can be classified according to the purposes (political, social, economic, etc.) they serve and how they serve them. If they are necessary for all sorts of reasons, borders are also inherently problematic. Instead of adopting a rigid position about them, we need to consider them as movable structures that have advantages and disadvantages. Borders should define ‘dwelling’ rather than national spaces and motivate political responsibility for pursuit of a ‘decent life’ as not restricted to any particular state.

The main goals of this work group are:
•    Highlighting issues, options, areas of responsibility, and specific activities of these regions;
•    Representation of their shared interest with the parliaments, legal entities, authorities and institutions on national and international levels;
•    Initiation, support and coordination of cooperation between the regions through Europe;
•    Encouragement to exchange experience and information to identify and coordinate the shared interests at the diverse issues and options, as well as to suggest potential solutions.
The work group of European border regions also does lobby work through the representation of the voice of the cross-border regions in the European institutes.

The ESPON project “Metroborder” includes an investigation and the further development of the approach of a Cross-Border Polycentric Metropolitan Region (CBPMR) within the Greater Region and the Upper Rhine (Rhin Supérieur). The study refers to the “understanding of metropolises as nodes in a globalizing world” (p. 43). Aspects of the functional integration and governance structures in the case study regions are analyzed. Strategic options and specific approaches to the further development of CBPMRs are presented.