Brussels, 09/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - As part of the establishment of the updated Cohesion Policy, the European Commission will be unveiling a regulation of the EP and Council next week to establish European Cross-border Cooperation Group (ECCG, see EUROPE of 9 July, p.7).
Member States, regions and local authorities encounter great problems in managing and carrying out cross-border or inter-regional activity due to different national laws and procedures. To get round such obstacles to cross-border cooperation, the Commission believes it is necessary to establish a cooperation instrument at EU level to establish cooperative ground throughout the EU with specific legal status, known as European Cross-border Cooperation Groups (ECCG). Such bodies are required because existing instruments, like the European Economic Interest Groups, have proved ill suited to organising structured cooperation of programmes under the Structural Funds' INTERREG over the 2000-2006 programming period.
According to the regulation, the ECCGs will have the task of facilitating and promoting cross-border cooperation among Member States and local and regional authorities with the aim of strengthening economic and social cohesion and facilitating transnational and inter-regional cooperation. They can be formed of Member States and/or regional and local authorities and/or local public bodies (known as 'members').
As far as its powers are concerned, the European group for cross-border cooperation (GECT) is entitled to act on behalf of its members and mainly the local and regional authorities of which it is composed. The tasks and the competence of GECT must be defined by its members in a European cross-border cooperation agreement. Also, the GECT must be able to act either to implement cross-border cooperation programmes cofinanced by the Community, mainly under structural funds as well as trans-national and interregional cooperation programmes, or to carry out cross-border cooperation actions at the initiative of Member States and their regions and authorities alone without Community funding. We would also point out that the financial responsibility of the local and regional authorities and Member States is not affected by the formation of GECTs either regarding the management of Community funds or national funds. The powers of a regional and local authority acting in the capacity of a public power, mainly as far as the police and regulation are concerned, cannot come under a convention.
The GECT finalises its statutes and has its own bodies (it is represented by a director and may have an assembly made up of representatives of its members). The GECT establishes its provisional annual budget and an annual report.
The GECT is the subject of a publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The regulation enters into effect on the 20th day after publication in the OJ. It is compulsory and directly applicable in all Member States.