Shared history , 843 The region of SaarLorLux was settled by the
Celtic tribes of the
Treveri and
Mediomatrici. The Treveri lived in the south of Belgium, Luxembourg, western Rhineland-Palatinate, and northern Saarland. Lorraine and the southern Saarland were inhabited by the Mediomatrici. Both tribes were conquered during the
Gallic Wars by the
Roman legions of
Julius Caesar. The area became part of the
Roman provinces of
Gallia Belgica,
Germania Superior, and
Germania Inferior.
Barbarian invasions forced the enfeebled Roman Empire to abandon possession of the area in the fifth century. The region became a part of the
Frankish Empire. After the death of
Louis the Pious in 840, the
Carolingians adhered to the Germanic custom of
partible inheritance, and the
Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the empire into three. Louis's eldest surviving son
Lothair I became
Emperor of the Romans and ruler of
Middle Francia. His three sons in turn divided this kingdom between them into
Lotharingia,
Burgundy and the
Kingdom of Italy (which covered the northern part of the Italian peninsula). The core area of SaarLorLux lies within the borders of Lotharingia. (998 sq mi). Luxembourg is a
parliamentary representative democracy with a
constitutional monarchy, ruled by a
Grand Duke. It is the world's only sovereign
Grand Duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the highest
Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world. The city of
Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union. Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between
Romantic Europe and
Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions. Luxembourg is a
trilingual country; French, German, and
Luxembourgish are
official languages. Although a
secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic. Until 1867, the city of Luxembourg, the
Gibraltar of the north, was a federal fortress of the
German confederation. In the 20th century, Luxembourg was twice occupied by German armies. In the middle of the 20th century, the economy of Luxembourg was dominated by the iron and steel industries. Then, a structural change took place, which transformed the country to an international financial center with more than 200 banks and over 800 financial institutions and insurance companies, generating more than 20% of the GNP of Luxembourg.
Saarland " (Bend in the Saar) near
MettlachSaarland is one of the 16
states of Germany. The capital is
Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km2 and 1.051 million inhabitants. In both area and population it is the smallest of the German
Flächenländer ("area states"), i.e., those that are not
City States (
Berlin,
Bremen and
Hamburg). It is named after the
Saar River, which is a
tributary of the
Moselle River (a
Rhine tributary) which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of . Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border that includes the capital of Saarbrücken. In 1919, Saarland was created from the communes where the steelworks and coal mines were located and the associated workers lived. From 1920 to 1935 and from 1947 to 1956, Saarland was economically affiliated with France. In 1957, 65,000 persons were employed in 18 coal mines, by 2006 only 6,300 in one mine remained. A comparable process happened with the steelworks.
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16
Bundesländer (federal states) of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 km2 and about 4.048 million inhabitants. The capital is
Mainz. The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate was established on 30 August 1946. The main axis of the state is the
Rhine river that forms the border with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in the southeast before running across the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhine Valley is bounded by mountain chains and forms a landscape containing some of the most historically significant places in Germany. The
Eifel and
Hunsrück mountain chains are found on the west bank of the Rhine in northern Rhineland-Palatinate, while the
Westerwald and
Taunus mountains are found on the east bank. The hilly land in the southernmost region of the state is called the
Palatinate forest (
Pfälzerwald). These mountain chains are separated from each other by tributaries of the Rhine: the
Moselle (
Mosel), the
Lahn and the
Nahe. Economically prosperous zones exist along the eastern borders, while in the western part of the state, there are structurally backward, rural regions.
Lorraine – Place Stanislas – Arc de triomphe , capital of Lorraine region. Until 2016,
Lorraine was one of the 26
regions of France. Its two main cities are
Metz (administrative capital) and
Nancy. The region's name is derived from the medieval
Lotharingia.
Lorraine consists of four départements,
Moselle,
Meurthe et Moselle, Meuse and
Vosges. Each of them is as big as Luxembourg and the Saarland together. Two of these départements,
Vosges in the south and
Meuse in the west, only have small interests in the SaarLorLux region, because they are far away from the shared border. on 23,547 km2.
Wallonia Wallonia with its five provinces and two communities has far reaching competencies in relation to economics, infrastructure, regional planning and foreign trade. Wallonia occupies the southern part of Belgium. It has an area of 16 844 km2 During the seventies the number of jobs in coal mines and steelworks was reduced from 135,000 to 35,000 today. Therefore, the region partially depends upon federal subsidies, including from
Flanders, Belgium's most inhabited region. Steelwork is today still important in the region. ==Development of cooperation==