The European ideal is deeply engrained in the civil character of DG inhabitants. DG citizens maintain wide ranging social, professional and cultural contacts with their European neighbours.
The DG is a frontier region. Its direct neighbours include Germany, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. And the borders of the Belgian State also contain considerable diversity. Against such a backdrop it is no wonder that the citizens and institutions of the DG are so ready to cross borders and are so international in their outlook.
For the DG, the ability to maintain intercultural communication is of existential and strategic importance. Some types of service are difficult to maintain for a pool of only 75,000 people, or even unreasonable, given the proximity of a more effective offer across the frontier. The solution to such dilemmas is usually some form of trans-frontier cooperation. Examples of this are the joint training in highly segmented employment fields, cooperation in the areas of services and assistance to youth, as well as medical care, or inter-regional police work. In this last area the clock has moved on decisively from the days when a Belgian police chase would have to turn back at the border until colleagues in Germany gave their green light. And the emergency services of all three countries regularly come together to cooperate in refining and practicing strategies for possible large scale missions.
From a political point of view, the DG often serves as a bridge, whether in the dialogue between Walloons and Flemings or for the federal government in its relationship with Germany.
DG citizens long ago discovered the advantages of speaking more than one language. One senses a readiness among the population to come to grips with the languages of their neighbours. Most DG inhabitants speak at least two languages.
The Maas-Rhine Euregio and the Saar-Lor-Lux Greater Region
The DG is an important and well-regarded partner in the Maas-Rhine Euregio (EMR). Since 2008 the administrative seat of the Euregio has been in Eupen, the capital of the DG. The Euregio is formed, on the German side of the border by the Aachen Urban Region, in the Netherlands by the Province of Limburg and in Belgium by the provinces of Belgian Limburg and Liege, as well as the DG itself. As a common cultural and living space, the Euregio has long since found a place in the heads, hearts and daily life of our citizens. This can clearly be seen by the increase in mobility on the employment market: roughly 14,000 people commute daily across the DG borders with Wallonia, Flanders, Luxemburg, Germany and the Netherlands.
The DG is also engaged in the Saar-Lor-Lux Greater Region. The members of the Greater Region are the French Department of Lorraine, the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg, the German federated state of Saarland, the Wallonian Region/French Community of Belgium and the DG. The goal of this partnership: to advance the economic, cultural, touristic and social development of the Greater Region to create a common living space within a Europe of Regions.