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Meeting with the Committee on Cross-Border Cooperation

Meeting with the Committee on Cross-Border Cooperation

As a priority measure of the Aachen Treaty, the AGZ is intended to support and strengthen cooperation at the borders by offering concrete solutions to the difficulties that the residents of the border regions may face in their daily lives, especially in the areas of transport, employment, healthcare and development.

Composed of representatives from the state, the regional authorities close to the border (states, border regions and departments, Eurodistricts) and parliamentarians from both countries, the work program of the AGZ moves within the subject areas of economy/energy/environment, transport infrastructure and education.

The exchange of views was therefore focused on the institutions that are active at the Franco-German level and on the most important structural reforms currently being planned (transport infrastructure, education and training systems, cultural policy), but also on the administrative constraints that companies face and want to develop further on the other side of the Rhine, as well as the inadequacies of Rheinish integration during the extraordinary context of the COVID-19 crisis.

Additional Information: https://www.agz-cct.eu/agz-cct-de

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Meeting with the Centre for European Consumer Protection

Meeting with the Centre for European Consumer Protection

With its 47-strong team (including 27 lawyers), the Centre for European Consumer Protection handles 18,000 cross-border complaints per year. It thus offers a range of free and specialised services for consumers in the border region, particularly in the areas of tourism, electronic commerce, the automotive industry, real estate and services.

The EVZ played a major role in the COVID-19 crisis and provided the residents of the border regions with practical and up-to-date information about the respective regulations on both sides of the Rhine.

As this crisis had a subsequent direct impact on cross-border workers and the social climate in German companies, the unequal treatment (‘double taxation’ of cross-border workers) with regard to short-time work benefits (‘KUG’) among French and German workers was the focus of the exchange between the honorary consul and the representatives of the ZEV.

Additional Information: http://www.cec-zev.eu

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The ‘EuroRegion Alsace’, an administrative renaissance of Alsace

The ‘EuroRegion Alsace’, an administrative renaissance of Alsace

It is a small revolution that would take place in Alsace on 1st January 2021. It is true that the two departments of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin is united in a joint ‘Collectivité européenne d’Alsace’ (CeA). This community takes over the responsibility of the two departments and gains new privileges.

Long asked for, long awaited, this association was negotiated between the state government and local lawmakers from 2018. With the decision, Alsace actually wishes to present itself as a pioneer in the decentralisation process. But the experiment could have a successor, at least that is what the French government wants to aim for. “The community is ahead of tomorrow’s institutional scheme,” said Edouard Philippe at the end of October 2018 after signing the joint declaration on the CEA.

The community will primarily be endowed with specific educational skills. Of course, it will determine how it wants to teach the regional culture and bilingualism to the pupils and students. The authority over the highways and motorways, which the previous departments had not yet transferred (more than 300 km), is delegated to the community. This decision should allow local MPs to charge a fee for heavy commercial vehicles that have been congesting the region’s road network since 2005 and the introduction of a fee in Germany. The CEA will also be gaining new responsibilities in the field of tourism, with the community being able to promote its tourist activities throughout France and abroad, a particularly important point for this border district. The particular geographic location of the CEA also means that the central government might delegate which competences have responsibilities in the area of ​​cross-border cooperation. Through an Alsatian department council, the community can now determine the most important goals and questions of cooperation with Germany and Switzerland.

As a pioneer, with an influential regional tradition and strong cross-border roots, Alsace will perhaps be an example for other departments. Who will dare to follow in its footsteps?

More information: https://www.alsace.eu/

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Arte.tv: the new, European and free platform

Arte.tv: the new, European and free platform

Finally some good news in these difficult times: the streaming platform of the Franco-German television broadcaster Arte.tv offers free European TV series to the public. They are provided in the original language (with subtitles). It is the ideal opportunity to discover the great classics of the various genres or to get to know other styles.

The aim of this offer is simple: it aims to significantly rejuvenate Arte’s target group, who on average are older than 60 years. Young people are actually watching less and less television, instead being especially enthusiastic about Netflix series or HBO productions. Series are the audiovisual genre of the decade and Arte understands that too. But will the Franco-German television broadcaster be able to compete with the largest platforms?

“That is not the question,” says the editorial team of the television show. The model that Arte is promoting with this offer is unique. The aim is not to consume series like this on other platforms, the audience should rather take their time and simply “enjoy”. The content that is offered is not new, but is still relevant today.

Further information: https://www.arte.tv/de/

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Parlez-vous français?

Parlez-vous français?

At the invitation of the Honorary Consul Michael Mack, the winners of the state award in the French solo category and the members of the Baden-Württemberg state jury of the Federal Foreign Languages Competition gathered in Europa-Park on 12th September 2020.

In order to make learning French in Baden-Württemberg’s schools more attractive, the Honorary Consul Michael Mack decided to give additional awards to those students who took the first three places in the state foreign language competition in the ‘Solo’ category for the school year 2019/2020. He invited the winners and their families to Europa-Park for Alsace Day.
At the invitation of Michael Mack, the judges for the state of Baden-Württemberg for the federal foreign language competition also visited the park on the same day. In cooperation with the Director of Studies Paolo Vetrano, State Representative of the Federal Foreign Languages Competition, their meeting took place in the French quarter of Europa-Park. Everyone involved, including award-winning students, enjoyed a lively exchange of views in the relaxed park atmosphere. We wish you all a successful start to the new school year. À très bientôt!

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Vive la Freundschaft!

Vive la Freundschaft!

Many guests from Germany and France attended Michael Macks’ Consular reception on the French national holiday.

Michael Mack organised the Consular reception on 10th July 2020 at Europa-Park in Rust for the French national holiday. The aim was to show the Honorary Consul’s friendship and affection for the country, especially after the borders between Germany and France had been closed for three months due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was for this reason that guests from various professional backgrounds were invited to the reception. Politicians, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs and key players in the realm of civil society from the Consular district of Freiburg & Tübingen and France gathered on the terrace of Balthasar Castle, alongside the representatives of French citizens residing in Germany. After the Honorary Consul Mack, Catherine Veber, Consul General from Stuttgart, and Volker Schebesta, State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Baden-Württemberg,welcomed the guests. Their speeches were accompanied by music from the Franco-German choir from Freiburg.
In addition, videos by MackMedia were broadcast, including a video on Franco-German friendship that was created for French national holiday together with numerous prominent personalities from both banks of the Rhine. The video message from Jean-Michel Marsal from Mulhouse was particularly touching. The life of the Covid-19 patient was saved thanks to a collaboration of doctors from Alsace and Freiburg, and so he ended his message with a proclamation of ‘Vive la friendship!’.

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Cross-border transport projects at the Upper Rhine

Cross-border transport projects at the Upper Rhine

Michael Mack welcomed the participants of the Franco-German transport conference.

On 13th July 2020, a transport conference for the representatives of the German and French municipalities and economytook place at Europa-Park in Rust. It was organised by the Bundestag member Peter Weiß and his French parliamentary colleague Antoine Herth. Both are members of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly. 

In addition to cross-border transport projects such as the Rhine Valley Railway, new rail connections and public bus routes between France and Germany, the networking of bike connections and tourism networking were also discussed. The results of this discussion should be presented at a joint meeting of the transport committees from the two countries. 

In his welcoming address, Honorary Consul Michael Mack emphasised that for Europa-Park, of which he is the Managing Partner, the further expansion of the transport infrastructure between Alsace and Baden is important not only for economic reasons, but also to promote cultural and political integration.

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Friends from Germany and France together again

Friends from Germany and France together again

Brigitte Klinkert, President of the Haut-Rhin Department Council, visited the Honorary Consul Michael Mack after the German-French border reopened.

On 22nd June 2020, a week after the German-French border reopened, the French Honorary Consul Michael Mack received Ms. Brigitte Klinkert, President of the Haut-Rhin Department Council. During the Coronavirus crisis, the two of them worked very hard to maintain Franco-German cooperation. For this reason, the main topic of their meeting was the continuation of the projects of cooperation between the Department of Haut-Rhin and the consular district of Freiburg & Tübingen, such as the Post-Fessenheim Plan and the construction of the Freiburg-Colmar railway line. Immediately following this, Brigitte Klinkert was appointed ‘ministre déléguée’ for integration measures at the beginning of July. Michael Mack congratulated her on this new position.

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The border is open again!

The border is open again!

Michael Mack took part in the reopening of the German-French border.

The ceremony to reopen the German-French border took place on 15th June 2020 at the Centre for European Consumer Protection in Kehl. In addition to the French Honorary Consul Michael Mack, there were also numerous public figures from both countries who are committed to maintaining and strengthening Franco-German relations during the Corona crisis. Their common message is: “The Rhine is no longer a border!”
In the period from mid-March to mid-June 2020, when the border between the two countries was closed, the French Honorary Consulate in Freiburg stood with French and German citizens and offered help and information. 295 emails and 172 calls were processed, sometimes on weekends or outside of normal working hours. The calls from other parts of Germany were not uncommon. Most of the inquiries, of course, related to the regulations for managing the spread of Coronavirus in France and Germany, and the easiest way to get across the border.

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Dinner for the Consular Corps in Baden-Württemberg

Dinner for the Consular Corps in Baden-Württemberg

At the invitation of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, Michael Mack took part in the dinner that was organised on 10th March 2020 for the members of the Consular Corps of the state of Baden-Württemberg in the New Palace in Stuttgart.

In his address, Minister President Kretschmann emphasised that the Consuls General, Consuls and Honorary Consuls working in Baden-Württemberg were “bridge builders and links between our states”. At the same time, they help their fellow citizens as contacts and on-site service providers. He thanked his guests for their work with the words “They help our state to have such great economic, scientific, cultural and personal connections all over the world.”

In Baden-Württemberg, there are currently more than 60 states represented by Consular representations. Most of them are Honorary Consulates, of which the French Honorary Consulate in Freiburg is one of the oldest.

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