European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)

Briefing 02-10-2015

The European integration process has redefined the map of Europe, changing the fortunes of Europe's border regions from peripheral areas to poles of potential growth. Their development has been spurred by European territorial cooperation, with EGTCs playing a leading role in this EU success story. An EGTC enables entities from two or more Member States to work together under a common structure with legal personality. Its objective is to facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational and inter-regional cooperation. Flexible in structure, it is the first EU legal instrument that allows local and regional authorities to cooperate without the need for an agreement ratified at Member State level. To date, a total of 55 EGTCs have been established across 20 Member States covering such areas as operation of cross-border facilities, tourism development and protection of natural heritage. The 2014-20 legislative framework has consolidated the role of EGTCs, with €10 billion available for European territorial cooperation. Numerous challenges remain, however, among them the fact that individual national legal or administrative systems are not always compatible with one another. Discussions on the EGTC are being taken forward by the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2015. A public consultation launched by the European Commission in September 2015 will consider the barriers to cross-border cooperation, with a Commission report on the application of the EGTC Regulation due by 1 August 2018.