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Founded in Geneva in 1996 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, FEDRE has always focused on cross-border regions. In 2023, it formed a partnership with Crédit Agricole next bank to study the border effect along Switzerland’s periphery in various fields, some of which go unnoticed by the general public. Following the first issue, which addressed food aid, the Founded in Geneva in 1996 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, FEDRE has always focused on cross-border regions. In 2023, it formed a partnership with Crédit Agricole next bank to study the border effect along Switzerland’s periphery in various fields, some of which escape the attention of the general public. Following Issue 1, which addressed food aid; Issue 2, which explored challenges in the healthcare sector; Issue 3, which presented a vital topic for our regions—water; Issue 4, focused on culture; Issue 5, addressing the sensitive issue of who compensates unemployed cross-border workers; Issue 6 focused on the idea of creating a cross-border resident card, Issue 7 addressed sustainable mobility in cross-border urban areas, this issue is devoted to the European aspects of cross-border cooperation, Issue 8 is dedicated to the European aspects of cross-border cooperation, Issue 9 to the diversity of direct taxation systems for cross-border workers, Issue 10 to the difference between Switzerland and its neighbors in counting the unemployed, Issue 11 on sustainable transport infrastructure planning in border agglomerations, Issue 12 on the contribution of culture to the construction of a common cross-border identity, and this Issue 13 highlights the growing importance of border phenomena and the transformation of the role of borders.
What if Greater Geneva or the Basel Tri-national Eurodistrict were, in reality, merely part of broader trends? We can—and indeed must—ask ourselves this question when we consider that 35% of European Union citizens live in border regions that cover 40% of the EU’s territory. Twenty percent of the French population lives near a border with another country. And in Switzerland? It’s simple: two-thirds of Swiss cantons are border cantons. All of this certainly gives us food for thought…
Fronts and Borders
In his book *Fronts et frontières* (1991), geographer Michel Foucher demonstrates that the word “border” shares a common etymology and a shared conceptual framework with the term “front line”—from the Latin *frontis* (genitive). A legacy of the formation of many states inthe 19th century, borders came under fire inthe 20th century, when, after World War II, there was a desire to break with nationalism. Efforts were made—and to a large extent succeeded—to ensure that borders in Europe would no longer be places of conflict. Efforts were made to remove barriers, particularly in the economic sphere. Thus, since 1957, the European Union has worked to promote among its member states what it calls the free movement of people, goods, capital, and services. Switzerland is also part of this broad movement.
Does this mean we should completely abolish borders? Some people, seeking to defend migrants, are calling for this on a global scale under the slogan:“No borders.” In reality, political and administrative borders are far from having disappeared. Certainly, we should mitigate their most negative aspects, but borders have this positive aspect: they constantly remind human beings—who are so prone to ignoring it—of the concept of limits. Limits to our own growth in a finite world, as advocated by the Club of Rome 50 years ago; the fight against excesses leading to today’s climate disruption. We must therefore live with borders and limits, tame them but not abolish them, moving from the border as a rupture to the border as a seam.
Yet there is a major challenge—one that is, alas, inherent to the human psyche—which La Bruyère sums up well in his *Characters*:“The world is full of people who, inwardly and out of habit, compare themselves with others, always decide in favor of their own merits, and act accordingly”(On Man, 70). It will certainly not be easy to better control this sense of superiority that we feel almost involuntarily toward our neighbor!
Today's Challenges
Today, efforts are being made to promote the concept of“cross-border living areas” based on the principles of solidarity, reciprocity, and equity—what FEDRE refers to as“fair sharing.” This is the outcome of the major European cross-border conference held on December 2 and 3, 2024, in Paris by the MOT (Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière), under the name“Borders Forum.”
This summit confirmed that the key issues can be summarized as follows: health, financial solidarity, urbanization, water and the environment, transportation and mobility, culture, and social cohesion. In all these areas, much remains to be done.
Some more advanced initiatives can be useful to others, provided they are adapted intelligently. For example, Geneva’s financial contributions to neighboring municipalities and departments—a mechanism dating back to 1973 and predating the Greater Geneva region established in 2013—has been widely cited as a model in Paris. This obviously does not mean that there is no room for improvement, but we are not in the same situation as the regions neighboring Luxembourg, which has made no commitment to provide financial support to them.
Variable geometry
Crossing borders without abolishing them must go hand in hand with a flexible approach. Let’s take a very concrete example: Greater Geneva, located along the Rhine-Rhône European development axis linking the North Sea to the Mediterranean, is a reflection of the growing urbanization of our societies (which is not necessarily a good thing). Far from being an isolated phenomenon, it is one of some 37 cross-border metropolitan areas currently identified in Europe. These are characterized by problems to be solved that are largely similar in nature: land use planning, housing, mobility, public services, governance yet to be developed, environmental threats, pockets of poverty…
And in the Lake Geneva-Alpine region, Greater Geneva is just one piece—an important one, of course, but still just one piece among many in a larger puzzle. Having a cross-border vision today means being able to make all these pieces work together harmoniously, without focusing attention on some at the expense of others. The key word must be “complementarity.” It is precisely in these synergies that an initiative like Greater Geneva will find its true path. What can be said about the fact that the Lake Geneva Council has turned its back on culture, forcing Greater Geneva—whose original mission was less focused on this area—to do more in this field, but within a smaller territory and with more limited resources? Some political decisions are truly baffling!