As there is Silicon Valley in the United States, the actors of the Franco-German-Swiss cross-border world want to make the Rhine Basin a “Life Valley”, in French a “Vallée de la vie”. This is the ambition displayed by the European Community of Alsace (CEA) at its headquarters in Strasbourg, during a meeting between cross-border actors on Wednesday 11 May.
Outreach and improvement of the living environment
During the meeting, CEA President Frédéric Bierry presented the “Alsatian Cross-Border Cooperation Scheme.” It lists almost 180 projectsselected from more than 1200 “recovered from the ground”, outlining the contours of cross-border cooperation by 2030.
This enhanced cooperation is grouped under the ambition of “Life Valley”, with three main ambitions. The first: to make life easier for cross-border workers by thinking about different projects on the scale of the Rhine Basin and no longer on the scale of Alsace only.
“In the field of health, for example, recruitment problems should be considered within the framework of the Rhine basin. One could also imagine that Alsatians could do MRIs in Germany, where the waiting time is eight days, against a month here for example”explains Frédéric Bierry.
Another objective, “to face together” by strengthening cooperation for the major challenges to come in terms of health and the environment, for example. Finally third ambition: the influence of the Rhine Basin with major academic and economic exchange projects. An influence that would make it possible to attract highly qualified profiles to the region, but also to “provide opportunities for residents” according to Frédéric Bierry.
The ECA is giving the various actors present on site one month to express their interest in the projects. The first works for their realization should start in three months.