Founded in Geneva in 1996 in association with the Council of Europe, FEDRE(www.fedre.org)has always focused on cross-border regions. In 2023, it formed a partnership with Crédit Agricole next bank to study the border effect in the regions surrounding Switzerland. Following Issue 1, which addressed food aid; Issue 2, which examined challenges in the healthcare sector; Issue 3, which presented a vital topic for our regions—water; Issue 4, which focused on culture; Issue 5, which tackled the sensitive issue of who compensates cross-border workers for unemployment; Issue 6 focused on the idea of a cross-border resident card,the next issue analyzed sustainable mobility in cross-border urban areas, Issue 8 was devoted to the European aspects of cross-border cooperation, Issue 9 to the diversity of tax systems for cross-border workers, Issue 10 to the difference between Switzerland and its neighbors in counting the unemployed, Issue 11 on the planning of sustainable transport infrastructure in border agglomerations, Issue 12 on the contribution of culture to a common cross-border identity, Issue 13 on the growing importance of border phenomena, Issue 14 on the role of sports in cross-border relations, Issue 15 on democracy in cross-border regions, Issue 16 on cross-border forest resources, and we dedicate this Issue 17 to cross-border workers’ associations.
There are approximately 400,000 cross-border workers (G permits) in Switzerland, 240,000 of whom come from France—that is, 60%—with half of them working in the canton of Geneva alone. The number of French cross-border workers has doubled in 15 years (Geneva, +70%), meaning that Switzerland now hosts half of all cross-border workers from France. This illustrates the scale of the phenomenon! Yet the associations that support and advise cross-border workers remain largely unknown, and the difficulties currently faced by the largest of these, the European Cross-Border Group (based in Annemasse), also prompt us to examine the challenges they must confront.
A rather fragmented landscape
In the Upper Rhine region, stretching from northern Alsace to Basel, four information centers dedicated to cross-border issues—known asInfobest—have been in operation for some thirty years. Access to these centers is free of charge, as they are funded by the relevant French, German, and Swiss government authorities.
There are also various private associations, often supported by the government, that offer services to their cross-border members. Founded in 1963, the Groupement des frontaliers, which became the Groupement Transfrontalier Européen (GTE) in 2000, is primarily active in Geneva and the surrounding area. The Amicale des Frontaliers (Morteau), founded in Le Locle in 1962, primarily serves the Franche-Comté region, including the Jura Arc, but extends as far as Geneva (11,000 members). The Comité de Défense des Travailleurs Frontaliers (Saint-Louis), established in 1958, is active in the Basel region. The Association d’Aide aux Frontaliers recruits primarily around Mulhouse (2,000 members). Further north, the Association des Frontaliers du Grand-Est operates, focusing particularly on Germany and Luxembourg.
In addition, a European Confederation of Cross-Border Workers was established in March 2025 in response to UNEDIC’s decision to reduce unemployment benefits for cross-border workers. With the aim of putting pressure on Paris and Brussels, it currently comprises four associations: the Association d’Aide aux Frontaliers, the Amicale des Frontaliers, the Association des Frontaliers au Luxembourg (founded in 1998 in Thionville), and the Luxembourg-based association “Frontaliers au Luxembourg,” newly created by Belgian Georges Gondon. They hope others will join them. We’ll see…
The GTE is in a vulnerable position
Held on April 3, 2025, in Annemasse, the GTE’s most recent General Assembly highlighted a concerning situation.
It claims to have 24,000 members, 14,500 of whom are current with their dues, and lost 10,000 members and 22% of its revenue when the supplemental health insurance provider for cross-border workers, with which it had been collaborating since 1964, terminated all contractual relations in July 2023. In fact, membership in the mutual insurance plan almost automatically included the GTE membership fee.
This, of course, severely disrupted the association’s financial stability, to the point that an administrator had to be appointed to help the association address a €400,000 deficit by freezing certain receivables, extending repayment terms, and so on. Expenses will also need to be cut, a process that has already begun with regard to office space and will also affect staff. Approved on April 3 at the General Assembly, the 2025 budget thus calls for a 21% reduction in expenses and a €260,000 cut in payroll.
Will that be enough? We will likely have to accept raising the standard membership fees (currently €100) and perhaps ask the departments of Haute-Savoie (currently contributing €258,000) and Ain (€162,000 in 2025) for an additional one-time contribution.
Redefining a strategy, asking the right questions
More fundamentally, these challenges should prompt a reevaluation of the role and operations of cross-border worker associations. For there is a fundamental paradox: as the number of cross-border workers increases, the number of GTE members decreases. In 2010, their numbers accounted for half of Geneva’s cross-border workers; today, they represent only one in five.
With today’s digital tools, a growing number of people now feel capable—rightly or wrongly—of finding information on their own, without feeling the same need as in the past to join a collective organization. This trend, which encourages a certain form of individualism, is obviously more pronounced among young people. A recent URSSAF survey estimated the average age of French cross-border workers in Switzerland to be 42. At first glance, the average age of participants at the GTE’s last general meeting was a good ten (or even fifteen) years older.
Cross-border worker associations are, however, forced to innovate. Perhaps they will succeed in doing so—while continuing to advocate collectively for cross-border workers—by developing “à la carte” services tailored to specific needs on a fee-based model, with different rates for members and non-members, and by raising membership fees if their members are satisfied enough with the services to accept the increase. These are just a few ideas…