Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau

The Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau was established in 2003 with the aim of coordinating the development of Strasbourg and its cross-border catchment area. The organization’s founding charter was signed in 2005, and five years later (in 2010), the joint work was continued in the form of an EGTC. The territorial cooperation is based on the collaboration of 112 municipalities, 61 of which are located on the French side (in the Strasbourg Eurometropolis and the canton of Erstein) and 51 on the German side (in the Ortenau district), with a total population of over 950,000.

Thanks to this cooperation, the municipalities along the Rhine can develop on the basis of a joint action program. The cooperation provides an opportunity for systematic discussion and implementation of project ideas, for the promotion of the border region at European level, and for political consultation at various levels. The topics addressed by the EGTC are very diverse, with the aim of improving the lives of the local population, developing cross-border relations and overcoming obstacles. These include inter-institutional relations, education, bilingualism, the involvement of the local population, health, the situation of young people, culture, transport, security, spatial planning, sport, tourism, environmental protection, and economic and labor market issues.

The institutionalized cooperation is organized around three main actors. The first and most important is the Council, which acts as the decision-making body, setting the strategic and political guidelines for the Eurodistrict, adopting the annual budget, and defining the guidelines for each year. The 34-member council is composed of equal numbers of French and German representatives. The council is complemented by a president and vice-president elected for a three-year term, who may not come from the same state, and after the end of their term, the neighboring state must nominate a person for the position. The third organization is the secretariat in Kehl, which is responsible for implementing the council’s decisions.