INFORMATION IN ENGLISH
The association Regio Basiliensis is the Swiss partner for the Upper Rhine cooperation and the competence center of choice to foster the cross-border cooperation in the service of politics, public authorities, economy, sciences, organizations and the population. Its aim is to provide incentives from the Swiss side for the development of the Upper Rhine region into a cohesive European border region and to actively contribute to attaining this objective.
Since it was founded in 1963, Regio Basiliensis has played a major role in shaping regional cooperation in the Upper Rhine region and has contributed significantly to most of the trinational achievements in the region. Through its active participation as a member of the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) and other European regional organizations, Regio Basiliensis also has a long track record of involvement at a European level in numerous initiatives designed to strengthen the regions of Europe and promote cross-border cooperation.
The stated aim of Regio Basiliensis is to be:
- a platform for the public: providing information and act as an advocacy organization for the cross-border cooperation in the german-french-swiss border region to the public and interest groups.
- a platform for Europe: providing information for the general public and interest groups on the relationship between Switzerland and Europe and its impact on Northwestern Switzerland and the Upper Rhine region and participate in european cross-border cooperation.
- a platform for services: providing access for groups from the business and academic sectors and the public at large to cross-border services and incentive programmes, providing advice on successful cooperation projects and coordinate cross-border cooperation in the Upper Rhine region for the cantons of Northwestern Switzerland and the Swiss Confederation.
COMMITMENT
Swiss cross-border cooperation involvement in the French-German-Swiss Upper Rhine region
The Regio Basiliensis as an association was established in 1963 by representatives from the business and academic sectors. The objective was «to plan and promote the economic, political and cultural development» of the territory and «to remove border constraints between the various subterritories (of the region) inasmuch as they constitute an economic and socio-psychological factor». The object as defined in its articles of association is to «provide incentives from the Swiss side designed to develop the Upper Rhine area into a cohesive European border region and to actively contribute to attaining this objective». In 1969, the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt signed a formal agreement establishing the intercantonal coordination office at Regio Basiliensis (IKRB) as an adjunct to the association. In its capacity as IKRB, Regio Basiliensis has been carrying out government duties in respect of minor foreign policy matters since 1970. Since 1996 this has also included the canton of Aargau and since 2003 the cantons of Jura and Solothurn.
Acting as an association and/or IRKB, Regio Basiliensis is predominantly active in the two distinct geographical zones of the Upper Rhine with 6.3 million inhabitants and the trinational agglomeration around Basel with 0.9 million inhabitants.
Partners of the Regio Basiliensis are government bodies and public corporations. It carries out four-fifths of its work in conjunction with the IKRB. This includes coordination with the European programme on territorial cooperation in the Upper Rhine region Interreg and a number of other cooperation bodies such as the Trinational Metropolitan Upper Rhine Region, the Franco-German-Swiss Conference of the Upper Rhine (ORK), the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel (TEB) and INFOBEST PALMRAIN. In general terms, the Strategic Policy Document of the Northwestern Switzerland Government Conference (NWRK) sets out the framework for the cross-border cooperation.
The European Programmes on Territorial Cooperation Interreg and the New Regional Policy (NRP) of the Swiss Confederation
Within the framework of the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) of the European Union, namely Interreg, and the New Regional Policy (NRP) of the Swiss Confederation, the Regio Basiliensis acts as the regional coordination office for the cantons of Northwestern Switzerland and the Swiss federal government. The cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Jura and Solothurn were quick to recognize the importance of the Interreg/ETC programmes for promoting cross-border and European cooperation as they were active participants in the regional programmes from the very beginning. In the 2021-2027 funding period, the cantons of Northwestern Switzerland participate in six ETC programmes:
- Interreg A Upper Rhine
- Interreg B North-West Europe
- Interreg B Alpine Space
- Interreg Europe
- URBACT
- ESPON
For Northwestern Switzerland, however, Interreg A Upper Rhine is the most important programme. To date, Switzerland has been involved in more than 220 cooperation projects in the Upper Rhine region. These cover a wide range of topics from spatial development and transport through business initiatives and education to youth work and culture. The fact that the Swiss Confederation has been taking part in Interreg/ETC programmes since 1995 and provides funding for cooperation projects in this context is largely due to the work of Regio Basiliensis. In the period from 1995 (Interreg II) to 2020 (Interreg V) federal funds amounting to CHF 24 million were allocated to cross-border and European cooperation projects in Northwestern Switzerland. Since 2008, federal funding has been provided within the framework of the NRP. The aim of the NRP is to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, added value and competitiveness in the regions. The federal government therefore only assists Interreg projects which support the aims of the NRP.
ORGANISATION
The association and the intercantonal coordination office (IKRB) together form a single operating unit. The Regio Basiliensis is an association established under the Swiss Civil Code and is co-financed by about 400 members. The governing bodies of the association, namely the general assembly, the board of directors and the monitoring group, provide the central control mechanisms for the Regio Basiliensis association and its activities in the Upper Rhine cooperation. The board of directors is the supreme executive body. It approves the budget, annual accounts and annual report for the association and the IKRB under the auspices of the general assembly. The monitoring group is a consultative body consisting of representatives from politics, administration, economy, science and civil society. The association is also the legal entity which employs the Swiss members of staff in the regional offices co-funded by the cantons, namely the administrative office of the Conference of the Upper Rhine (ORK) and INFOBEST PALMRAIN. The IKRB is affiliated to the Northwestern Switzerland Government Conference (NWRK) and its structures.