French-Geneva Regional Committee (CRFG)

One of the oldest cross-border governance organizations on the French-Swiss border is the French-Geneva Regional Committee (Comité Régional Franco-Genevois – CRFG), which has been working since 1973 to oversee and promote the development of the Geneva cross-border agglomeration. The system was established at the same time as the Geneva Financial Compensation System (Compensation Financière Genevoise – CFG). The CRFG provides an institutional framework for the authorities in the region to discuss cross-border issues on a designated platform and to implement joint projects. The cooperation not only provides a forum for consultation between the municipalities concerned, but also allows the involvement of actors at the state level. The committee members include five French and three Swiss organizations, comprising state (France and cantons) and regional (region and counties) actors, as well as the Association of Geneva Municipalities (L’Association des Communes Genevoises – ACG).

In terms of organizational structure, the highest body is the Political Cooperation Forum (Instance Politique de Coopération – IPC), co-chaired by the prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France and the State Councilor responsible for cross-border affairs in the canton of Geneva. The forum also has four members from France and four from Switzerland, and the state representatives responsible for foreign affairs in both countries are invited to participate in the consultations. The IPC is the decision-making body for cooperation and meets twice a year to discuss current issues.

The forum is assisted by technical committees, which may be permanent or temporary. Their members are elected officials and experts, and their work is limited to a specific issue or project. There are currently nine such subcommittees dealing with the following topics: supervision of the Geneva financial compensation system, provision of cross-border statistical data, transport, security, health care, employment and social security, training and research and development, water management and environmental protection, and energy supply.

The Secretariat is responsible for technical tasks, including the organization of IPC meetings and technical consultations.

With the deepening of cross-border relations, new institutional forms have also emerged within the CRFG.

These include the Lake Geneva Council (Conseil du Léman), established in 1987, and the Greater Geneva Local Cross-Border Cooperation Group (GLCT Grand Genève), established in 2013.