Building bridges for the future of the region: Meeting of Eucor cities in Strasbourg

On 2 June 2025, the third meeting of Eucor cities took place at the Palais universitaire of the University of Strasbourg. On this occasion, the presidents of the five Eucor universities and the mayors of their head cities and of the conurbations concerned met to develop common perspectives for the Upper Rhine region.

As a preamble, Frédérique Berrod, President of the University of Strasbourg, welcomed the participants and symbolically evoked the ‘Passerelle des deux rives’ – the bridge between Strasbourg and Kehl, a symbol of the European spirit of cohabitation. ‘Building bridges’ – this is also the mission of the cities and universities that are jointly responsible for the region.

Cities and universities: effective partners

The discussions that followed clearly demonstrated the mutual synergies between cities and universities from a social, economic and cultural perspective. This interaction was clearly confirmed by the city and university leaders present. Together, they stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation, particularly in the following areas:

• Mobility: attractive, well-connected public transport is essential to the smooth operation of cross-border cooperation, particularly for education and students – including appropriate fares between the countries and better connections for Freiburg-Mulhouse and Freiburg-Colmar.
• Sustainable urban development: towns and universities want to work together to bring about a green transformation of the region, for example through ‘real laboratories’ – places where new solutions are tested directly in practice.
• Innovation: the region must become a real laboratory for the future, thanks to the synergies between the city, science and the economy. Universities are engines of innovation that make a significant contribution to the economic dynamism of the Upper Rhine region. Cooperation between local authorities and universities needs to be further developed, particularly in terms of promoting start-ups.

One region – one common goal

The participants were unanimous: challenges such as climate change, affordable housing and the shortage of skilled labour can only be tackled together. What is needed is close cooperation rather than parallel structures, more visibility for existing initiatives and a clear signal: ‘We are all one region’.