Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis

The joint governance of the city of Lille and its cross-border catchment area has been ensured by the establishment of an EGTC. Created in 2008, the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis is the first organization of its kind in Europe, covering 2.2 million people and 155 municipalities. The 14 founding members of the EGTC include state, regional and municipal associations, thus involving all relevant territorial levels in the establishment of cooperation. The objectives of the cooperation are to develop a joint development strategy, implement projects, improve the quality of life of the population and enhance communication and cohesion between the two sides of the border. The EGTC currently focuses on eight main areas, for which it has set up working groups. These activities are as follows:

• work-related training
• language learning
• digitization
• higher education
• cross-border transport
• employment
• use of water resources
• promotion of renewable energy.

The organizational structure of the cooperation is based on a General Assembly consisting of 84 representatives. The members are selected from among the founding members of the EGTC according to quotas defined in the statutes (certain actors may delegate more than one representative at a time: e.g., the European metropolis of Lille has 32 representatives). The General Assembly meets at least twice a year and requires a quorum of half of the representatives to be present. Decisions can only be adopted if there is an absolute majority among the French representatives, the French-speaking Belgian representatives and the Dutch-speaking Belgian representatives. The General Assembly is responsible for discussing development strategies and cooperation, approving the budget and annual report, and electing the Presidency, the President and the Vice-Presidents from among its members.

With its 32 members, the Bureau is the other decision-making body of the EGTC and can take decisions unanimously on all matters that do not fall within the competence of the General Assembly. These are mainly administrative and technical matters, such as the development of work programs or the establishment of working groups and advisory bodies. The Presidium is headed by the President and three Vice-Presidents, who are elected by the General Assembly from among the members of the Presidium. Potential candidates must include two French-speaking Belgian persons and one Dutch-speaking Belgian person. Candidates are elected for a two-year term, with the position of President being allocated on a rotating basis. (The two-year Belgian term is divided equally between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking candidates). The main tasks of the President are to implement the decisions of the General Assembly and the Presidium, to represent the EGTC, and to report on the activities of the Presidium at the General Assembly.

The President is assisted in his work by a working body responsible for operational tasks, which prepares the decisions of the General Assembly and the Presidency and implements them in accordance with those decisions. The head of this body participates in the meetings of the Presidency and performs secretarial tasks.

This hierarchical organizational structure is complemented by two additional institutions (the Conference of Mayors and the Forum), which enable the democratic functioning of the EGTC and the channelling of the opinions of local actors. All mayors of municipalities belonging to the EGTC area participate in the Conference of Mayors. The conference provides an opportunity for mayors to exchange information and opinions and to establish personal contacts. The event is convened annually by the President. The Forum, which brings together 80 participants, seeks to involve the civil society in order to provide a platform for the expression of social needs and opinions.