How can children be transported from a museum on one side of the Belgian-Luxembourg border to a museum on the other side? How can “facilitated” healthcare be envisioned on both sides for rural areas where doctors or healthcare facilities are sometimes far away? How can students reach the Barnich-Sterpenich school and the Kleinbettingen train station?

Five of the first twelve projects submitted under the cross-border functional areas (ZFTs) between Luxembourg and Belgium have already received €3.96 million. The remaining seven projects will be reviewed in May, and at this stage, only a new wave of projects in the southern zone is expected to receive funding, as the first co-financing round of this European initiative is capped at €8.1 million over three years.

"Cross-border cooperation within the Luxembourg-Wallonia functional areas helps achieve one of the political objectives of the Luxembourg PDAT, namely cross-border spatial planning," said Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning, (DP), on stage at the event "Cross-Border Functional Areas (ZFT) Luxembourg-Wallonia: A New European Boost for Cooperating, Developing, and Uniting Our Territories", this Tuesday in Eischen. "Based on cross-border territorial cooperation strategies co-developed with stakeholders on both sides of the border, the ZFT mechanism promotes the implementation of concrete projects for the benefit of the local population."

"Cross-border cooperation between Wallonia and the Grand Duchy is a strategic necessity to address the common challenges our territories face. The cross-border functional areas have already proven their relevance by providing concrete solutions for citizens. It is essential to continue this commitment to strengthen our synergies and ensure the harmonious development of our shared territory," added the Minister-President of Wallonia, Adrien Dolimont.

In total, around forty municipalities are involved: 29 in the north (11 Walloon and 18 Luxembourgish); 16 in the south (8 Walloon and 8 Luxembourgish).