The Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) - "European Metropolis of Lille" is the métropole, an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities (Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) whose major city is the city of Lille. It is located in the Nord department, in the Hauts-de-France region, northern France – bordering both the Flemish and Walloon regions of Belgium. It was created in January 2015, replacing the previous Communauté urbaine de Lille, and covers that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France. Its population was 1,154,103 in 2014 (the fourth largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille), of which 238,381 in Lille proper. The annual budget of the métropole is €1,865 billion (2018).