A eurodistrict is a European administrative entity that contains urban agglomerations which lie across the border between two or more states. A eurodistrict offers a program for cooperation and integration of the towns or communes of which it is comprised: for example, improving transport links for people who live and work on different sides of the border. Furthermore, it confers a trans-national regional identity and represents European integration. World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... In the study of human settlements, an agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place (usually a municipality) and any suburbs or adjacent satellite towns. ... The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ...

The first Eurodistricts created or currently undergoing creation are:

• Strasbourg-Kehl-Offenburg, known as the Strasbourg-Ortenau Eurodistrict.
• The Freiburg-Alsace Eurodistrict
• Lille-Courtrai
• Sarre-Moselle
• Basel-Lörrach-St. Louis-Weil am Rhein

They may be established: City flag City coat of arms Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Département Bas-Rhin (67) Région Alsace Mayor Fabienne Keller (UMP) (since 2001) Intercommunality Urban Community of Strasbourg City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 78. ... Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. ... Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. ... Capital Strasbourg Land area¹ 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - Jan. ... t* Autoroute A22 : Lille - Antwerp - Netherlands A sixth oher ejt weoitjh w newr0tipew roj40=9 dfiojg b o4it orpitre royieoy i53 -y035 3[49430ne — the proposed A24 — will link Amiens to Lille if built, but there is opposition to its route. ... Kortrijk (French: Courtrai) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... Sarre is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. ... Moselle is a département in the northeast of France named after the Moselle River. ... Location within Switzerland Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: Basel , French: Bâle , Italian and Spanish: Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands... Castle ruin of Rötteln in Lörrach Lörrach is a city in south-west Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. ... At the German and Swiss border, Saint-Louis is a small town with approximatively 20,000 inhabitants. ... Weil am Rhein is home to the Vitra Design Museum Weil am Rhein is a German town and commune situated on the east bank of the River Rhine, and close to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. ...

• by a simple agreement about common projects in the area;
• in a more institutionalised manner by a local association for transfrontier or cross-border cooperation (in French: groupement local de coopération transfrontalière or GLCT), which can draw up plans for transfrontier cooperation between towns or communes; or
• with an even greater degree of institutionalisation, perhaps including structures allowing a transfer of power and elected by all district citizens. This has constitutional implications for the individual countries involved, which have to be taken into account when drawing up agreements.

Note that transfrontier cooperation methods between regions known as euroregions exist in parallel to eurodistricts, which are generally urban. Furthermore, a eurodistrict can be located within a euroregion and even have certain connections with it. In European politics, a Euroregion is a form of transfrontier co-operation structure between two (or more) European countries. ...

The term eurodistrict is quite new and has not been defined by organisations like the Council of Europe or the European Union. The Palace of Europe in Strasbourg European Flag: used by the Council of Europe and by the European Union The Council of Europe (French: Conseil de lEurope , German: Europarat /ˌɔɪ.ˈro. ...

See also

• Franco-German cooperation
• Euroregion

François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl in Verdun in 1984 The Franco-German Cooperation or Franco-German Partnership are terms to describe the high collaboration between the countries of France and Germany in the post-1945 world. ... In European politics, a Euroregion is a form of transfrontier co-operation structure between two (or more) European countries. ...

External link

• Council of Europe document on Transfrontier Cooperation (October 2005)