PAMINA-Interreg project

The PAMINA Eurodistrict is a European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation covering the Southern Palatinate and the Central Upper Rhine area in Germany, along with Northern Alsace in France. Its origins date back to 1988, when the “Wissembourg Declaration” was published; it was initially focused on territorial development, tourism and making use of synergies.
In the 1990s, there were suggestions of locating a Franco-German engineering university in Wissembourg. The surrounding municipalities intended to make use of this opportunity by installing a cross-border commercial park adjacent to the university, which could also serve to accommodate potential spin-offs. In order to assess the potential, a structured, questionnaire-based survey was carried out with regional actors – essentially company CEOs and leaders in administration and associations. Possibilities of a single legal framework (German and / or French) were also assessed.
The project was found to be feasible. However, due to the military reconversion burden, the Land of the Rhineland-Palatinate preferred different options. Thus, new university campuses were developed in Birkenfeld and Zweibrücken. GOPA, Bad Homburg (Germany) / TSD – Technopôle Service Développement (currently: inno TSD), Sophia-Antipolis (Alpes-Maritimes, France)