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29th Mar 2024

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Franco-Belgian metropole tests new EU structures for public authorities

  • Belgian justice minister Stefaan de Clerck is a promoter of regional cross-border co-operation (Photo: Belgian Ministry of Justice)

A "Euro-metropole" - a new form of transnational civil administration is being established at the border of France and Belgium in a pilot project of what the EU aims to gradually develop into: a series of authorities with stronger regional, cross-border focuses.

"We are a bit of a pioneer in the EU," Stefaan de Clerck, vice-president of the body and Belgium's justice minister told EUobserver, "the first to to practice this new European structure for public authorities," Mr de Clerck said, who was mayor of his native town, Kortrijk, up until December, when he was appointed minister of justice.

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The Euro-metropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai established in January 2008 covers an area of over 3,500 square metres and two million inhabitants between the French city of Lille and the Belgian towns of Kortrijk in Flanders and Tournai in Wallonia.

Unlike other voluntary forms of regional co-operation, the Euro-metropole is established as a legal entity, allowing it to hire its own civil servants, the Belgian minister explained.

It is a so-called European grouping for territorial co-operation (EGTC), which under EU law enables public authorities from member states to team up and deliver joint services, without requiring a prior international agreement to be signed and ratified by national parliaments. National governments must however approve the formation of these entities on their territories.

The Euro-metropole is formed of representatives from the local, regional and national authorities on a principle of parity between the constituent countries: for each two French officials, two Belgian officials – one from the Flemish-speaking side, the other from the French-speaking one.

"It is a general political structure for the managing of all sort of problems – different politicians with different responsibilities are around the table – mayors, police, representatives from regional and national authorities," he said, citing examples such as pursuing cross-border crime or investing in common infrastructure projects as the sort of activities the authority will be dealing with.

He said that the people in this transnational region were close to each other not only because of the geographical proximity, but also as a result of historical ties, for "it was only Louis XIV who drew the frontier between Kortrijk and Lille".

"At the beginning of the 20th century, there were a lot of people from Flanders going to work there. Now we have the reverse – some 30,000 French working in Belgium," the minister said.

Companies established within the territory of the Euro-metropole should all benefit from the research and innovation done at the 'Centre of Excellence' founded by French authorities in Lille. "It would be very stupid if this only worked for French companies and not for all the companies in the metropole," the Belgian politician said.

Co-operation with the French authorities is sometimes difficult because of the different administrative structures in the two countries, Mr de Clerck said. Centralism was not so much the problem, as it was the political interference of the "prefect", appointed by Paris, in day-to-day business on local and regional level and who was able to block projects.

"We are used to our independence and we feel free, but in France, for instance in security matters, the prefect is central. This is completely different in Belgium, where the mayor of a city is also head of the police," he said.

Nation state on the decline?

In Mr de Clerck's view, the 'era' of nation-based, rigid public administration structures is over, especially in cross-border regions.

"I'm convinced that the old constitutional approach of organisation of the state in Europe doesn't work anymore. You have an EU level that is growing in importance and at a local and regional level, you need networking between various actors. This trend is challenging the old structures, because it is a flexible, results-oriented approach," he said.

These "flexible" networks on different topics – economic, education, environment – would always work better than the hierarchical, traditional approach.

"This networking idea is much more an urban way of thinking. You have bigger concentrations of people living together and belonging to a larger-scale structure free in its choices and working together." Mr de Clerck explained.

"Nations must be a bridge to Europe, but they also have to make the link to regions, to the local and metropolitan level. Cities are growing in importance. They are the engines of development. That's why the trans-border and metropolitan levels are essential," he said.

Asked whether he thought that national governments will see these new forms of trans-border bodies as a threat, the Belgian politician said he was confident that these new forms of co-operation were the way forward.

"If Europe wants to be successful, it needs to handle the transborder problems in a very concrete way," he concluded.

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