The EMDI project

A Channel-wide project

Initiated within the framework of the Channel Arc Manche partnership, the EMDI (Espace Manche Development Initiative) project aimed, between 2004 and 2008, to develop and reinforce Franco-British cooperation in the Channel area. 48% of its 2.1 million euros budget was funded by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Interreg IIIB North West Europe programme. It also intended to pave the way for future cooperation programmes for the 2007-2013 period. The project gathers 22 partners from various backgrounds.

Strategy and practice : two complementary approaches

The strategic dimension was dedicated to highlighting the specificity of the Channel Arc area. Until the 2000s, this cross-border area lacked visibility among institutional actors. As a matter of fact, it is partly included in other, more active, cooperation areas such as the Atlantic Arc or the North West Europe programme. It was thus difficult to catch local, national or European partners' attention on topics regarding specifically this maritime area. Moreover, as they were created, European cross-border cooperation programmes only took into account landborders. As a consequence, the primary objective of the EMDI project was to bring the Channel Arc area to the foreground at different institutional levels.

Second, the project explored issues that could benefit from cross-border cooperation. Five main realms were emphasised on : tourism, fishing and fisheries, coastal zones integrated management, maritime security, intermodal transport and higher education, research and development and technology transfer.

Concrete and positive outcomes

EMDI's results were quite successful. The project contributed to the whole Channel area being recognised as a relevant crossborder cooperation zone of its own. The various working groups enabled stakeholders to implement concertation structures and to bring together knowledge concerning different aspects of the Channel area like touristic activity.

In June 2008, the publication of the book « Channel Spaces, a World Within Europe », by Pascal Buléon and Louis Schurmer-Smith, closed the project. This work generated a particular interest from the European Commission, which is expected to edit an Atlas of maritime zones in Europe in the near future.

Last but not least, the EMDI project enabled the presentation of a strategic vision for the Channel area, which was supported by the Channel Arc Assembly. It allowed local stakeholders to form and carry a common approach to the main issues at stake in the Channel area, in order to be more effective in the promotion of the area's shared interests at the institutional level.

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