Pas-de-Calais Department
- 1 president, 78 councilors from the 39 districts of Pas-de-Calais.
- Elected member: Mireille Hingrez-Cereda, Vice-President of the Departmental Council in charge of maritime and metropolitan issues of the Littoral, Fisheries, Port of Etaples, European and cross-border relations and City policy
- 1,5 millions inhabitants
- 1,8 billion EUR budget
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Pas-de-Calais Department
With many emblematic cities such as Calais, Arras, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Lens or Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, Pas-de-Calais is one of the most populated and diversified departments in France. Attractive and dynamic, its territory offers a great variety of landscapes, rural and urban, natural and touristic. Its Mining Basin is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the ports in Calais, for passenger transportation, and in Boulogne-sur-Mer, for fishing, are among the most frequented in Europe. Its strait, a junction between The Channel and The North Sea but also between Great Britain and France, is one of the busiest in the world. As a major trade route, it is of great strategic and economic interest to Europe.
Pas-de-Calais and cross-border cooperation
Due to its geographical position and the history of its inhabitants, closely linked to international immigration, Pas-de-Calais Department is a truly European territory. As such, it builds on international relationships and Euro-regional dynamics to create a working space where solutions to shared problems can be found. The cross-border specificity of Pas-de-Calais being a source of opportunities for the attractiveness of its territory and for the quality of life of its population, a main objective of the Department is to promote the sharing of expertise and knowledge with its partners, as well as the possibility for its inhabitants to engage in intercultural experiences.
Pas-de-Calais and the Straits Committee
Pas-de-Calais Department initiated the creation of the Straits Committee jointly with the Kent County Council in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it was in Arras on February 5, 2020 that the launch conference of the Committee was held, which welcomed more than 200 people from all regions of the Committee. This cross-border cooperation at the local level is meaningful for Pas-de-Calais as it establishes a platform for exchanges and projects to strengthen the relationship that the Department has had with the Kent County Council for over 30 years as well as with other local authorities in the Straits Committee.
Common work themes of particular interest for Pas-de-Calais Department
The working themes of the Straits Committee are fully in line with the objectives of Pas-de-Calais Department :
- The emphasis placed on support for economic development will ease exchanges in the Department by carrying out joint reflection on transport, logistics and tourism. In this respect, the Straits Committee will act as an incubator for the development of cross-border clusters. It will encourage sectors with strong growth potential, which will enhance the attractiveness of the territory and stimulate job opportunities in Pas-de-Calais.
- The work on ecological transition and the promotion of clean growth will contribute to the Department's commitment to reduce the effects of climate change in a territory which faces many challenges, including the high concentration of human activities in the Mining Basin, the increase in maritime traffic, coastal development and rising sea levels.
- The support of young people in their access to autonomy, skills and employment being one of the main concerns of Pas-de-Calais Department, the Strait Committee will be a place of opportunity for young people by promoting cross-border mobility as well as linguistic and intercultural exchanges. It will contribute to reducing the number of young people in Pas-de-Calais who are not working, studying or in a training course, by providing easier access to cross-border job opportunities, including in innovative sectors such as digital transformation, climate adaptation or the transition to a more circular and inclusive economy.