On Tuesday 17 December, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and negotiators from the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a new Border Regions’ Instrument for Development and Growth in the EU (‘BRIDGEforEU’).
The new legal framework will complement existing possibilities and cover the land border regions of neighbouring Member States as well as maritime borders (see EUROPE 13510/22).
Member states will be free to decide whether to set up cross-border coordination points responsible for handling cross-border files and how to resolve cross-border obstacles. Those who do not wish to set up cross-border coordination points will have limited reporting obligations. Island Member States will be exempt from these obligations.
Although the regulation will not apply to border regions with third countries, it opens up the possibility for Member States to set up equivalent procedural frameworks under national law to address cross-border issues in their cooperation with third countries.
The co-legislators agreed that only public or private law entities would be able to initiate cross-border files, which is not the case in all Member States.
The agreement must now be approved by the two institutions.
According to the European Parliament, this tool will eliminate 20% of cross-border obstacles and generate economic gains of over €120 billion a year.
Sandro Gozi (Renew Europe, French), rapporteur, said that his group had “demonstrated that it is the main driving force behind European integration across borders”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)