Rhine-Alpine News

24.06.2026

4th Bundeskongress “Tag der Regionen” in Trier

EGTC's Vice Chair, Prof. Matthias Proske at the Tag der Regionen

EGTC’s Vice Chair, Prof. Matthias Proske at the Tag der Regionen

On 8 and 9 June 2026, the 4th Bundeskongress “Tag der Regionen” took place in Trier under the guiding theme “Connecting borders – networking spaces – shaping the future”. The congress focused on how regions can cooperate across administrative and national borders when planning future territorial development.

The programme combined discussions, thematic sessions and visits in and around Trier. On the first day, participants looked at how regions cooperate within the European policy framework and how German metropolitan regions organise cooperation beyond their administrative borders. These discussions were then connected to the local setting of Trier. Participants visited a reactivated railway line, followed by a tour through the historic city centre and further visits to sites linked to regional infrastructure and local economic development.

On the second day, the programme turned to the practical conditions that make cross-border cooperation work. The sessions focused on how regions collect shared spatial information, how mobility can be planned across borders and how Interreg can support cooperation between municipalities. The congress concluded with a discussion on how cooperative regional development can be strengthened in the coming years.

The EGTC Rhine-Alpine was represented by Prof. Matthias Proske, Vice-Chair of the EGTC Rhine-Alpine and Director of Verband Region Karlsruhe. He contributed to the session “Overcoming Borders: Facets of Transnational Cooperation in German Metropolitan Regions”, organised by the Initiative Circle of European Metropolitan Regions in Germany.

The session examined how metropolitan regions can develop stable cooperation structures beyond administrative borders. It opened with the example of the Berlin–Szczecin cooperation, before turning to the Rhine corridor through the EGTC Rhine-Alpine and then to the Antenne Métropole initiative.

In his intervention, Matthias Proske presented the EGTC Rhine-Alpine as a permanent cooperation structure along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. He explained how the EGTC brings together regions, cities and ports from five countries within one legal and institutional framework. This framework allows members to address corridor-related challenges jointly, despite different administrative systems and national contexts.

A central point of the intervention was the added value of the EGTC model. Unlike individual projects, the EGTC provides continuity over time. It creates a platform through which local and regional actors can coordinate their positions, develop common activities and represent shared interests at European level. In this sense, the EGTC helps connect European transport policy with the realities and priorities of the territories along the Corridor.

The discussions in Trier confirmed the relevance of this approach. Cross-border regions are increasingly required to manage functional areas that do not stop at administrative borders. This is particularly important for the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, whose work focuses on the link between corridor development, regional cooperation and the integration of transport infrastructure within the territories it serves.

The participation in the Tag der Regionen was therefore an opportunity to present the EGTC Rhine-Alpine’s experience in corridor-based cooperation and to exchange with other regions working on comparable governance questions. It also underlined the importance of long-term structures that allow regions to cooperate consistently beyond the duration of individual projects.

At a time when European transport infrastructure is under increasing pressure, the event showed why cooperation cannot be treated as an additional task. Regions need stable structures that allow them to work together before shared problems become bottlenecks. For the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, this is precisely the value of corridor-based cooperation: it gives territories a way to turn common challenges into coordinated action.

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The event (DE)

EGTC Rhine-Alpine at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the European Cross-Border Platform

On 10 and 11 June 2026, the European Committee of the Regions hosted the Annual Meeting of the European Cross-Border Platform in Brussels. The meeting brought together more than 160 participants to discuss the future of cross-border cooperation in Europe.

The EGTC Rhine-Alpine was represented by its Director, Dr. Marie-Eve Reinert. Her participation was particularly relevant in a year that marks 20 years since the EGTC Regulation came into force. The meeting showed that EGTCs have become an established legal instrument for cooperation, but that their role still needs to be better understood and recognised.

A central part of the discussion focused on the future EU budget after 2027. Participants discussed how Cohesion Policy should support border regions in the next programming period, with particular attention to Interreg and the role of EGTCs. The debate also addressed the need for clearer rules in future programmes, so that cross-border structures can use their competences more effectively.

The meeting also highlighted the practical obstacles that still affect daily life in border regions. These obstacles are often concrete and immediate. They can concern commuting, access to services, administrative procedures or the effects of border controls. For the 145 million Europeans living in border regions, cross-border cooperation is therefore not an abstract European objective. It is part of how people work, travel and access essential services.

The role of EGTCs was one of the key points of the meeting. Participants underlined that EGTCs can help public authorities act together across borders within one legal structure. At the same time, several discussions showed that EGTCs are still not always sufficiently recognised by national, regional and European institutions. This can limit their access to funding and reduce their capacity to implement long-term territorial strategies.

The meeting also included the 2026 EGTC Award “Building Europe across Borders”. The award was granted to the Italo-Austrian EGTC “Euregio senza confini” for its work on improving cross-border emergency calls. This example showed how cross-border cooperation can have a direct impact on public services and on the safety of citizens.

For the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, the meeting confirmed the importance of stable cooperation structures. Along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, regions, cities and ports face shared challenges that cannot be addressed only within national borders. The EGTC model offers a way to organise this cooperation over time and to connect territorial needs with European policy discussions.

At a time when Europe is preparing the next EU budget and reviewing how cooperation should be financed after 2027, the meeting sent a clear message: cross-border cooperation needs structures that are legally clear, recognised and able to act. For the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, this is the value of the EGTC model. It allows territories to move from shared problems to coordinated action.

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The event

From corridor definition to implementation: EGTC Rhine-Alpine follows key NSRM developments

With the new TEN-T Regulation, the former Rhine-Alpine and North Sea-Mediterranean Corridors have been merged into the North Sea–Rhine–Mediterranean Corridor. This creates a wider European framework for transport planning, but also a clear implementation challenge: the new Corridor now needs to function as one connected system across different territories, infrastructure networks and national contexts.

This question was at the centre of several NSRM exchanges in June. The EGTC Rhine-Alpine Director, Dr. Marie-Eve Reinert, participated in the main meetings in The Hague and Brussels, where European institutions, Member States and corridor stakeholders discussed how the new framework can be translated into concrete action.

The main moment was the 4th NSRM Corridor Forum, held in Brussels on 22 June 2026 under the leadership of European Coordinator Prof. Paweł Wojciechowski. The Forum focused on the preparation of the Corridor Work Plan, which will guide the implementation of the NSRM Corridor in the coming years.

For the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, the Work Plan is a key process. It will influence how priorities are defined along the new Corridor and how investment needs are followed up. It is also the place where the link between European transport objectives and territorial realities becomes concrete.

The Forum showed that implementation will require both major investments and stronger coordination. Participants discussed the future EU budget, the next Connecting Europe Facility and the 2026 CEF reflow call. The European Investment Bank also presented financing and advisory opportunities for transport infrastructure.

These discussions were connected to concrete projects along the Corridor. The Seine-Escaut inland waterway project showed the importance of waterborne transport for the northern part of the Corridor. The Italian presentations on the Terzo Valico and the Malpensa–Sempione connection highlighted the role of rail capacity and port access in the southern section. The Irish railway investment plan brought in another perspective, showing the different starting points within the wider NSRM framework.

The Brussels Forum also followed up on the Working Group on Future-Proofing Transport Networks, held in The Hague on 11 and 12 June. That meeting brought attention to a question that is often less visible than new infrastructure: how to preserve and modernise the networks already in use. Along the NSRM Corridor, ageing assets, maintenance works and capacity constraints can affect the reliability of passenger and freight transport across borders.

This is where the corridor approach becomes important. Maintenance, renewal and construction works are often planned nationally, but their effects are felt along the entire Corridor. Better coordination can help reduce disruptions and make the network more resilient over time.

In parallel to these exchanges, Alina Candu, Chair of the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, was invited to give an interview for the next NSRM Corridor Forum newsletter. The interview focused on one central question: how the new NSRM Corridor can become more than the merger of two former corridors. From the perspective of the EGTC Rhine-Alpine, this means looking at what is needed for implementation on the ground, especially where infrastructure capacity, cross-border coordination and regional priorities meet.

The invitation also reflects the position of the EGTC Rhine-Alpine in this transition. The EGTC has so far represented regional and local actors along the former Rhine-Alpine Corridor, which is now part of the wider NSRM framework. Its experience therefore offers a relevant reference point as discussions continue on how territorial cooperation can support the future development of the new Corridor.

Taken together, the June exchanges showed that the NSRM Corridor is moving from definition to implementation. The merger has created a broader framework. The next step will be to make this framework operational through coordinated action along the Corridor

 

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