Sharing INTERREG experiences
Sharing INTERREG experiences
THE EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) (Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006) - the first EU instrument offering a legal framework to territorial cooperation joint bodies
What is the EGTC?
The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) is a cooperation instrument at Community level for the creation of cooperative groups in Community territory, invested with legal personality, in order to overcome the obstacles hindering territorial cooperation. Recourse to an EGTC should be optional.
Background
On 14 July 2004, the European Commission adopted a package of five regulations for the Structural Funds and related instruments for the period 2007-2013, including a "Regulation on a European Grouping of Cross-border Cooperation" (COM(2004) 496). This draft regulation was amended and its scope was enlarged to "Territorial Cooperation" in general, which led to renaming it "Regulation on a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)" in its final version, adopted on 5 July 2006.
This inclusion in the "2007-2013 package" is a clear signal that the EGTC is primarily, though not exclusively, addressed for managing structural funds programmes.
Aim
The aim of this new legal instrument is to facilitate cross-border, transnational and/or inter-regional co-operation between regional and local authorities.
More precisely, the objectives of the regulation, stated in its preamble, are:
Legal Basis
Article 159(3) of the Treaty on Economic and Social Cohesion providing for "specific actions to be decided outside the structural funds".
Justification
Danuta Hübner, Regional Policy Commissioner, presented her views on the EGTC at a Conference "Prosperity and Sustainability - Local Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region", held in Visby (SE) on 17 August 2006:
"Our experience with INTERREG has demonstrated the need for fully joint structures for managing such programmes. To assist programme partners in this regard, the European Commission proposed a new instrument – the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
EGTCs will be able to manage individual projects or take on the role of a programme's "Managing Authority" responsible for the implementation of the whole cooperation programme. In this role, an EGTC would operate just like any other managing authority - with the added bonus that it would be genuinely joint, representing both sides of the border. In addition to the political signal this would send, it offers a range of practical advantages, including the simplification of employment procedures for programme staff.
It is not for the European Commission to decide on whether and how this instrument will be used or to insist on a particular approach for the use of the EGTC instrument: it should be viewed as a framework tool which has been provided, and it is very much for the implementers - the users on the ground - to assess how best to take advantage of this".
Past and Upcoming Events on the EGTC
MOT: 16 November, Metz: MOT seminar on the EGTC: content of the regulation prospects opened up by this new instrument and its potential application to cross-border matters. Languages: French, English, German (www.espaces-transfrontaliers.org)
INTERACT: First INTERACT on the EGTC, 26-27 November 2007.
Outcomes of the seminar
Upcoming events
After a first successful Seminar on the EGTC, 26-27 November 2007, INTERACT repeated this seminar in April 2008.
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: various events have been organised by the COR over the past 2 years and more events are planned for 2008: EGTC web page at the Committee of the Regions
Links
Page updated on 29.04.2008