France: New cross-border Eurodistrict between France and Germany

The objective of the Freiburg-Alsace Eurodistrict, officially launched in Colmar on 5th july 2006, is to improve the daily life for people who live and work across the borders and to strenghthen the co-operation of the area, a conurbation of one million of inhabitants. Furthermore, this Eurodistrict achievement is a concrete response to the UE and French citizen?s aspirations to enjoy Europe at the local level, and to appraise directly its construction. The vocation of an Eurodistrict is to oversee co-operation within the effectiveness of existing cross-border organizations, and to push for a more sustainable development. Five Eurodistricts link already France to Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. These new entities exist in parallel to « Euroregions ». Smaller, they tend to focus on building new ties with people and the non profit economy. www.robert-schuman.eu