REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the application of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013 as regards the clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and functioning of such groupings
Date: 2018-08-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Subjects: European cooperation, European legal status, administrative formalities, cross-border cooperation, economic and social cohesion, regional cooperation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.8.2018 COM(2018) 597 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  on the application of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013 as regards the clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and functioning of such groupings  {SWD(2018) 395 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

on the application of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on a European Grouping of 
Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013 as 
regards the clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and 
functioning of such groupings 

1.   INTRODUCTION 

As  legal  bodies  that  can  increase  legal  certainty  and  stability  for  cooperation  initiatives, 
European groupings of territorial cooperation ('EGTCs') are intended to improve cohesion in 
the  European  Union  by  facilitating  territorial  cooperation  and  addressing  the  practical 
difficulties involved. EGTCs should reduce the problems encountered by Member States and, 
in  particular,  regional  and  local  authorities  in  implementing  and  managing  cooperation 
activities in the context of differing national laws and procedures. 

Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European 
grouping  of  territorial  cooperation  (the  'EGTC  Regulation')1  was  adopted  on  the  basis  of 
Article 175  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  in  particular  its  third 
subparagraph.  It  entered  into  force  on  1  August  2006  and  has  been  fully  applicable  since 
1 August  2007.  It  was  amended  by  Regulation  (EU)  No 1302/20132  as  regards  the 
clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and functioning of EGTCs. 

In  accordance  with  Article  17  of  the  EGTC  Regulation  the  Commission  services  have  to 
forward to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions a report 
on  the  application  of  this  Regulation  assessing,  based  on  indicators,  its  effectiveness, 
efficiency, relevance and EU added value of EGTCs, and scope for simplification. 

2.   EGTCs IN PRACTICE 

EGTCs’ recent activity on the ground3 

EGTCs  are  concentrated  in  certain  areas,  mostly  along  the  Hungarian,  Slovak,  French, 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  borders.  Their  territorial  coverage  is  particularly  extensive  in 
Hungary.  Some  Member  States  are  not  involved  in  any  EGTCs,  these  differences  might  in 
some instances be a result of already established other type of cooperation structures.    

In 2017, four EGTCs had members from a non-EU country. As the EGTC Regulation did not 
explicitly refer to EGTCs with an external dimension until it was amended, one cannot expect 
a rapid emergence of such EGTCs4. 

Main types of EGTCs are: 

  cross-border EGTCs, which address mainly local and regional challenges; 

1  OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19. 
2  Regulation  (EU)  No  1302/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  December  2013 
amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  1082/2006  on  a  European  grouping  of  territorial  cooperation  (EGTC)  as 
regards  the  clarification,  simplification  and  improvement  of  the  establishment  and  functioning  of  such 
groupings (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 303). 

3  This section is based on the EGTC monitoring report 2017, CoR (2018). 
4  The  participation  of  entities  from  outside  the  EU  in  the  European  groupings  for  territorial  cooperation, 

CoR (2015). 

1 

 
 
                                                            
 

transnational  EGTCs,  over 
cooperation areas; 

territories  considerably  wider 

than  cross-border 

  network EGTCs, composed of members that are not connected to a particular area; and 

  EGTCs  for  specific  purposes,  e.g.  hospitals,  nature  parks,  transport  corridors  and 

universities. 

By 31 December 2017 there were 68 EGTCs altogether. 

The  most  common  EGTC  arrangement  involves  cooperation  between  2  and  20  local 
authorities,  with  small  to  medium-sized  cooperation  structures.  The  second  most  prominent 
arrangement is cross-border cooperation involving regional authorities. 

EGTCs  are  mostly  funded  through  membership  fees,  transfer  from  national  and  regional 
budgets,  and  contributions  from  EU  funds,  mainly  the  European  Structural  and  Investment 
Funds (ESI Funds), but also LIFE, Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020. 

In 2017, the EGTCs were active in restructuring, due to growth in membership: in total, 21 
(31%) reported a change in membership. 

At  the  end  of  2017,  work  was  under  way  to  establish  over  20  new  EGTCs.  The  range  of 
applications of the EGTC instrument is likely to expand further as a result. 

Motivation and challenges relating to the creation of EGTCs 
Motivation5 

The  EGTC  instrument  was  created  to  facilitate  and  promote  territorial  cooperation  with  a 
view  to  strengthening  cohesion  in  the  EU.  EGTCs  are  widely  used  to  consolidate  and/or 
deepen  general  (cross-thematic)  cross-border  cooperation.  Mainly  local  and  regional  bodies 
make use of them, but EGTCs are also used for interregional cooperation. 

The motivation for setting up an EGTC varies. Primarily, an EGTC is established as a visible 
and permanent structure for territorial cooperation to manage joint projects, infrastructures or 
environmental resources. 

EGTCs contribute to: 

  consolidate an integrated strategic approach; 

  stabilise cooperation structures and ensure the continuity of actions; 

 

improve the transparency and visibility of cooperation; and  

facilitate participation in EU programmes.   

 
Challenges6 

Challenges when creating EGTCs relate to: 

  approval  authorities’  lack  of  experience  and  knowledge  as  regards  the  steps  to  be 

taken; 

 

the need to find agreement between EGTC  members on the content  of the work or 
the precise tasks involved; and  

5  European  grouping  of  territorial  cooperation  as  an  instrument  for  promotion  and  improvement  of 

territorial cooperation in Europe, European Parliament (2015). 

6  Experience of European groupings of territorial cooperation (EGTC), Moro Praxis (2017). 

2 

 
 
                                                            
  differing  national  rules  and  regulations,  e.g. procurement  of  services  and  taxation; 
the  EGTC  Regulation  provides  for  a  European  legal  form  subject  to  national 
implementing  rules,  so  tailor-made  solutions  based  on  the  applicable  national 
legislation need to be found for each EGTC. 

EGTCs and European territorial cooperation 

The  original  objective  of  the  EGTC  instrument  was  to  facilitate  European  territorial 
cooperation (ETC) at both programme and project level, which besides the implementation of 
specific projects includes programming in a broader sense.  

Currently,  two  EGTCs  actually  implement  ETC  programmes:  the  Grande  Région  EGTC, 
which  is  the  managing  authority  (MA)  for  the  Grande  Région  Programme;  and  the  ESPON 
EGTC, which has a specific role, since it is the sole beneficiary, and as such responsible for 
implementing, the 2014-2020 ESPON Programme7.  

Some  EGTCs  are  responsible  for  implementing  small  project  funds  in  specific  ETC 
programmes: the RDV EGTC and the Via Carpatia EGTC manage the small project fund8 in 
their  respective  geographical  areas  under  the  Hungary-Slovakia  Interreg  programme.  Two 
EGTCs are sole beneficiaries of ETC projects, and the GO  EGTC implements an integrated 
territorial investment (ITI). 

In 2017, 33 EGTCs were involved as lead partner or partner in some 83 ETC projects. EGTCs 
are  also  involved  in  ETC  in  other  ways,  e.g. co-financing  or  facilitating  ETC  projects  or 
programmes. 

3.   ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION OF THE EGTC REGULATION 

The  Commission  services  worked  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Committee  of  the  Regions 
(CoR)  to  gather  the  necessary  data  to  assess  the  application  of  the  amended  EGTC 
Regulation. The main sources of data were the CoR’s EGTC monitoring report 20179 and a 
commissioned study10 to assess the questions and indicators set out in the Annex to the future 
delegated act on the EGTC implementation indicators. 

The outcome of the analysis of the data gathered was discussed and agreed with the CoR. 

3.1.  Effectiveness of the EGTC Regulation 

The  analysis  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  EGTC  Regulation,  as  amended,  looked  at  how 
successful  the  EU  action  had  been  in  achieving  its  objectives11.  The  main  objectives  of  the 
amendments were: 

 

 

 

to facilitate the establishment of EGTCs; 

to clarify certain provisions; and  

to promote more extensive use of EGTCs. 

7  Luxembourg and France participate in the Grande Région EGTC. Luxembourg and Belgium participate in 

the ESPON EGTC. 

8  The  Small  Project  Fund  is  implemented  under  two  priority  axes  of  the  Interreg  V-A  Slovakia-Hungary 
Cooperation  Programme  and  must  contribute  to  their  priority  objectives.  RDV  EGTC  and  Via  Carpatia 
EGTC are EGTCs on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. 

9  EGTC monitoring report 2017, CoR (2018). 
10  Assessment 
of 
the 
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/cooperation/european-territorial/egtc/. 

application 

the  EGTC  Regulation,  Spatial  Foresight 

of 

(2018). 

11  Due  to  a  lack  of  baseline  data,  only  the  level  at  the  cut-off  date  is  reported  for  some  of  the  indicators 

relating to effectiveness, rather than the increase over the period. 

3 

 
 
                                                            
A total of 21 new EGTCs were established between 21 June 2014 and December 2017. This 
development  represents  a  significant  increase  of  44%  in  the  total  number  of  EGTCs  and 
shows  that  the  pace  of  foundations  since  the  initial  approval  of  the  EGTC  Regulation  is 
maintained.  

The  number  of  EGTC  members  has  also  increased  by  more  30%  from  above  600  (21  June 
2014)  to  above  800 by  the end of 2017. Membership  of existing EGTCs grew considerably 
more in 2016 and 2017 than in previous years, indicating that the amendments of the EGTC 
Regulation facilitated the enlargement of EGTCs. The fact that the EGTC Regulation clarified 
the rules in this respect has supported this development. 

At  least  10  EGTCs  were  involved  in  cross-border  service  provision,  either  in  a  direct 
management role or  indirectly. The current  EGTCs plan to provide or contribute to a wider 
range of services in  the future, e.g. natural disaster  warning systems and cross-border waste 
recycling12. This indicates that the amendments of the EGTC Regulation are relevant. 
Overall, EGTCs mention various benefits of using the instrument13: 

  support  for  multi-level  governance  structures  enhancing  cross-border,  bottom-up 
approaches 
levels  of  cross-border 
cooperation. The amended EGTC Regulation simplifies EGTC membership changes, 
thus supporting adjustments in line with EGTCs’ development; 

intensified  and/or  higher 

that  allow  for 

  enabling border regions to enhance joint planning and implementation of strategies in 
different fields by articulating their joint interests and sharing a vision for the border 
area. Since the amendment, this has included better service provision; 

  as single beneficiaries, EGTCs have easier access to EU funding, since applying for 
EU funding through the EGTC involves less administrative effort for the members, 
especially  in  the  2014-2020  ESI  Funds  programming  period.  The  cross-border  or 
transnational character of EGTCs also helps in communicating EU added value when 
applying for EU funding; 

  EU  legal  identity  improves  EGTCs’  visibility  and  acceptance  by  other  relevant 
public  authorities.  They  are  acknowledged  as  an  intermediary  that  can  initiate  new 
cross-border actions and in some cases exert more influence on decision-making;  

  EGTCs  offer  a  reliable  and  sustainable  communication  channel  facilitating  various 

forms of cooperation in cross-border areas. 

The  objectives  of  facilitating  the  establishment  of  EGTCs,  clarifying  certain  provisions  and 
allowing  for  more  extensive  use  of  EGTCs  have  been  achieved  in  several  ways.  EGTCs 
support ETC mostly by implementing projects and parts of programmes, rather than as MAs 
of ETC programmes. The EGTC Regulation has contributed to clarification and broader use 
of  the  instrument,  especially  as  regards  cross-border  service  provision  and  the  inclusion  of 
non-EU countries. 
Studies14 also confirm that  clarity has been  improved in  several  areas, such as  membership, 
the  participation  of  authorities  from  non-EU  countries  and  the  relationship  between  an 
EGTC’s convention and its statutes. The functioning of EGTCs has been facilitated, as access 
to  EU  funding  appears  to  be  easier  and  changes  in  the  convention  (e.g. due  to  membership 
changes) have been simplified. 

12  See footnote 10. 
13  See footnote 10. 
14  See, for example, Krzymuski and Kubicki (2014) and Krzymuski (2017). 

4 

 
 
                                                            
The  EGTC  Regulation  includes  in  its  Annex  an  inter-institutional  statement  in  which  the 
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agree to undertake efforts within the 
institutions and with the Member States to support the use of EGTCs. At EU level, the CoR’s 
EGTC  platform  has  been  revamped  and  this  has  considerably  improved  access  to 
EGTC-related  information.  The  CoR  has  also  become  more  involved  in  EGTC-related 
promotion activities, including events and publications. 

The CoR’s annual EGTC monitoring report indicates an intensification of activities in support 
of  EGTCs  in  the  Member  States.  More  Member  States  are  promoting  EGTCs,  taking 
increasingly  varied  approaches15.  The  effectiveness  of  these  activities  is  reflected  in  the 
widening  application  of  the  EGTC  instrument,  both  in  terms  of  themes  addressed  and 
geographical areas covered. The effectiveness of EGTC promotion activities varies strongly, 
as  not  all  Member  States  are  active  in  this  respect.  Despite  the  achievements  in  promoting 
EGTCs, some difficulties in accessing ETC funding seem to persist. This indicates that further 
efforts are required to promote EGTCs16. 

3.2.  Efficiency of the EGTC Regulation 

Efficiency considers the relationship between resources or inputs used and changes or results 
generated17.  

In the case of EGTCs, a comparison between EGTCs and other comparable structures under 
national  or  international  law  was  drawn,  which  led  to  conclude  that  in  most  cases,  costs  of 
setting up an EGTC are too limited to be used as a relevant indicator of efficiency. 

Other  aspects  were  identified  as  more  relevant  when  comparing  EGTC  and  structures 
established under national or international law: 

 

the versatility of the EGTC is highly valued. When founded, EGTCs can be used for 
a wide variety of purposes18. Within the often broadly formulated tasks of an EGTC, 
actual  working  fields  can  be  adjusted  easily  without  fundamentally  changing  its 
structures; and 

  one of the unique and most important advantages of EGTCs is that they have legal 
personality and are thus entitled to carry out activities in the countries in question. 

3.3.  Relevance of the EGTC Regulation 

The  relevance  indicator  considers  the  extent  to  which  the  objectives  and  provisions  of  the 
EGTC Regulation correspond to the needs of prospective EGTC members19. 

When  looking  at  the  amendment  of  the  EGTC  Regulation,  which  widened  the  objective  of 
creating  an  EGTC  and  broadened  their  scope  in  this  Regulation,  we  can  conclude  that  a 
considerable  number  of  current  EGTCs  use  EU  funds  other  than  ETC  that  support  their 
specific thematic objectives. 

Since  the  start  of  the  2014-2020  programming  period,  the  EGTC  involvement  in  ETC  has 
been  generally  supported by stronger legal links between the EGTC Regulation and the EU 

15  CoR 2017a. EGTC monitoring report 2016 and impacts of Schengen area crises on the work of EGTCs. 
16  CoR, 2017b. Simplification of the implementation of Cohesion Policy. Workshop on European Territorial 

Cooperation (ETC). Final report. Brussels. 

17  The  main  findings  provide  only  qualitative  insights.  In-depth  analysis  with  control  groups  would  be 
required  to  obtain  quantitative  data  on  the  relationship  between  costs  for  an  EGTC,  as  compared  with 
similar structures under national or international law.  

18  For further information, see CoR (2018). 
19  Due to a lack of baseline data, only the level at the cut-off date is reported for most of the indicators and 

their sub-categories, rather than the increase over the period. 

5 

 
 
                                                            
cohesion  policy  regulations20  and  the  overall  involvement  of  EGTCs  in  cooperation 
programmes has  increased considerably. Nearly half of the  EGTCs are now involved in  the 
implementation of ETC programmes, mostly through partnerships in one or more projects.   

The  amendment  of  the  EGTC  Regulation  however  has  not  led  to  the  foundation  of  new 
EGTCs  to  act  as  MAs  of  ETC  programmes.  The  EGTCs  also  use  very  rarely  the  option  of 
acting as single beneficiary of an operation. A reason for the latter can be that especially in 
the  early  stages  of  the  2014-2020  programming  period,  ETC  programmes  required  a  great 
deal  of  clarification21  and  this  may  have  discouraged  further  applications  from  prospective 
single beneficiaries.  

There remain ambiguities. Article 8(2) of the EGTC Regulation differentiates between the law 
regarding  enforcement  of  the  convention  (point  g),  where  EGTC`s  organs  act  (point  h)  and 
EGTC activities (point j). It is clear that the convention shall define the applicable law with 
regard  to  all  three  elements,  but  doubts  remain  how  detailed  the  list  of  applicable  law 
“directly relevant to EGTC’s activities” should be22. The Commission’s view is that the law 
“directly  relevant”  should  be  closely  linked  to  the  “tasks  specified”:  an  EGTC  set  up  to 
manage a hospital has more specific tasks than an EGTC set up to develop its territory in a 
broad way.      

3.4.  European added value 

The  European  added  value  indicator  considers  whether  EGTCs  were  set  up  because  of  the 
EGTC Regulation. The EU added value is closely linked to the typical benefits identified for 
the  EGTCs23.  The  advantages  of  an  EGTC  compared  to  similar  legal  bodies  give  valuable 
qualitative information to assess the European added value of the EGTC: 
According to literature24 the advantages are:  

  as legal entities, EGTCs enable quicker and more efficient decisions in cross-border 

environments where several authorities are involved; 

  EGTCs  enable  coherence,  permanence  and    coordination,  encourage  common 

objectives and stabilise cooperation in cross-border areas; 

  EGTCs are  seen  as independent  from isolated  political  decisions  and developments 
that could block the adoption or implementation of useful measures for cooperation 
areas extending beyond national borders; 

  EGTCs  give  cooperation  areas  negotiating  power  that  helps  them  to  defend  their 

interests; and 

  EGTCs mitigate the separating effects of internal borders, thus supporting cohesion 

in the EU and improving the visibility of EU policies at local level. 

20  See,  for  example,  The  European  grouping  of  territorial  cooperation  as  an  instrument  for  promotion  and 

improvement of territorial cooperation in Europe, European Parliament (2015), pp. 31-41. 

21  CoR, 2017b. Simplification of the implementation of Cohesion Policy. Workshop on European Territorial 

Cooperation (ETC). Final report. Brussels. 

22  See footnote 10 
23  Neither  quantitative  nor  qualitative  data  could  be  obtained  on  the  territorial  cooperation  structures  and 
networks set up solely by means of EGTCs. The indicator appeared too difficult to grasp for EGTCs when 
collecting  data  for  the  2017  Monitoring  Report.  As  a  result,  findings  are  restricted  to  a  qualitative 
assessment of the advantages of setting up a legal body under EU law as compared with other national or 
international bodies. 

24  The  following  draws  especially  on  responses  from  EGTCs  during  data  collection  for  the  2017  EGTC 

monitoring report and Zillmer and Luer (2017, pp. 15 -21). 

6 

 
 
                                                            
European  added  value  is  confirmed  by  many  EGTCs  when  highlighting  benefits  that  they 
would not realise without the EGTC instrument.   

3.5.  Simplification 

The  degree  of  simplification  is  assessed  on  the  basis  of  whether  administrative  costs  and 
burdens have been reduced and whether an intervention allows for quicker or less complicated 
action. In the case of EGTCs, this is particularly relevant in the start-up phase. 

The indicators/findings suggest that start-up periods have been shorter. This is particular the 
case for the phase covering the time needed from submitting the first draft convention until 
registration of the EGTC. Geographical differences might be due to the type of EGTCs being 
set up and experience with establishing EGTCs.   

According to the indicators, the EGTC Regulation led to some simplification. However, the 
need  to  simplify  EGTC  legislation  does  not  arise  solely  or  even  primarily  from  the  EGTC 
Regulation, but often from national law of the Member States. 

The  amendment  clarified  various  aspects  of  the  EGTC  Regulation,  in  particular  the 
employment of staff, the division and ranking of an EGTC’s convention and its statutes, the 
membership  of  various  actors  and  the  participation  of  non-EU  members.  The  needs  of 
(prospective) EGTC stakeholders have therefore been addressed in these areas. 

4.   PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENT25 

A key principle when considering any further amendment is to keep the EGTC instrument as 
stable  as  possible,  since  every  change  tends  to  create  new  uncertainty.  Within  the  present 
framework, it is possible to facilitate the use of EGTCs through more information and better 
coordination  between  Member  States  and  approval  authorities,  and  more  promotion  in  the 
context of EU funding instruments.   

The EGTC is still a relatively new tool and many potential participants have no experience or 
knowledge of it. As a consequence, there is a need for more information, in particular on legal 
issues around designing an EGTC and developing its statutes and its convention. 

The  establishment  of  an  EGTC  will  usually  involve  several  Member  States,  which  may 
implement the EGTC Regulation in different ways. Standardised requirements and procedures 
may  contribute  to  greater  legal  certainty  both  for  the  EGTC  partners  and  the  authorities 
involved.  Therefore,  the  regular  meeting  and  exchange  of  information  among  approval 
authorities shall be continued and be used to address the above issues.  

The  need  for  better  coordination  also  relates  to  contacts  between  potential  EGTC  members 
and approval authorities, and among latter ones in different Member States. In addition to the 
administrative  questions,  there  is  also  a  need  to  agree  on  the  content  of  the  EGTC.  This 
process could be helped by an exchange of information and best practices between approval 
bodies, EGTCs and the CoR. 

Better  communication  of  the  EGTC  instrument  in  the  context  of  EU  funding  programmes 
could promote its use and its access to EU funding as is foreseen in Article 3 of Commission 

25  Using  input  from  Experience  of  European  groupings  of  territorial  cooperation  (EGTC),  Moro  Praxis 
(2017),  The  European  grouping  of  territorial  cooperation  as  an  instrument  for  the  promotion  and 
improvement  of  territorial  cooperation  in  Europe,  European  Parliament  (2015)  and  Assessment  of  the 
application of the EGTC Regulation, Spatial Foresight (2018). 

7 

 
 
                                                            
proposal COM(2018) 37426. This would be particularly important at the start of the next (post-
2020) programming period.  
New instruments proposed like the ECBM27, which aim at enabling on a voluntary basis, that 
the  rules  of  one  Member  State  are  applied  in  the  neighbouring  Member  State  for  a  specific 
project or services of general economic interest, will further help the work of EGTCs, as their 
wholly  institutional  nature  is  not  suitable  for  resolving  legal  and  administrative  obstacles28. 
EGTCs  have  the  potential  to  address  other  issues  highlighted  in  the  Commission 
Communication  on  Boosting  growth  and  cohesion  in  EU  border  regions29,  e.g.  facilitating 
cross-border  accessibility  or  promoting  greater  pooling  of  health  care  facilities  like  the 
Cerdanya Cross-Border Hospital EGTC. 

EGTCs  often  serve  as  a  testing  ground  to  overcome  differences  between  Member  States  in 
applying  EU  law.  A  possible  area  of  follow-up  would  be  to  use  EGTCs  as  case  studies  on 
how these differences are addressed. 

5.   CONCLUSIONS 

The amended Regulation aims to facilitate the establishment and operation of EGTCs, and to 
clarify  certain  existing  provisions.  Besides  resulting  in  a  significant  increase  of  44%  in  the 
total  number  of  EGTCs  it  also  enhances  the  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  the  EGTCs  in 
promoting cooperation in the implementation of EU policies. 

The  analysis  carried  out  on  the  basis  of  indicators  relating  to  effectiveness,  efficiency,  and 
relevance shows that the objectives of facilitating the foundation of EGTCs, clarifying certain 
provisions and allowing for more extensive use of the EGTC instrument have been achieved. 

The  EGTC  Regulation  contributes  to  the  clarification  and  broader  use  of  the  EGTC 
instrument, especially for cross-border service provision. It also clarifies several aspects, such 
as  membership,  the  participation  of  authorities  from  non-EU  countries  and  the  relationship 
between the EGTC’s convention and its statutes. Meanwhile the number of EGTC members 
increased by more than 30% since the beginning of the 2014-2020 programming period, the 
emergence of EGTCs with an external dimension will require specific action from actors at all 
levels. 

Overall,  EGTCs  are  much  more  involved  in  cooperation  programmes,  but  only  a  few  are 
implementing ETC projects as single beneficiaries or managing (parts of) a programme.  

European  added  value  is  confirmed  by  many  EGTCs  when  highlighting  benefits  that  they 
would not realise without the EGTC instrument.  

The  amended  EGTC  Regulation  provided  a  degree  of  simplification.  However,  the  need  to 
simplify  EGTC  legislation  does  not  arise  primarily  at  EU  level,  but  in  relation  to 
supplementary conditions imposed by the Member States. 

The  effectiveness  of  activities  to  promote  EGTCs  varies  strongly  from  country  to  country. 
Despite  the  additional  promotion  efforts,  further  efforts  are  still  needed  to  enhance  the 
efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  the  EGTC  instrument  in  fostering  cooperation  in  the 
implementation of EU policies. 

26  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  specific  provisions  for  the 
European  territorial  cooperation  goal  (Interreg)  supported  by  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund 
and external financing instruments (Article 3) – COM(2018) 374 final,29.5.2018. 

27  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a mechanism to resolve legal 

and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context - COM(2018) 373 final, 29.5.2018.  

28  Article 7(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 excludes that EGTCs exercise regulatory powers.  
29  COM(2017) 534 final, 20.9.2017 

8 

 
 
                                                            
The challenges  that  have  been  identified  suggest  that  legal certainty  for the EGTCs and the 
approval authorities would benefit more from standardised requirements and procedures than 
further amendments to the EGTC Regulation. If EGTCs are to be more effective and subject 
to  simpler  arrangements,  there  is  a  need  for  more  coordination  among  Member  States  to 
improve  interpretation  and  application  of  the  Regulation,  overcome  difficulties  due  to 
implementation  differences  and  coordinate  divergent  national  legal  frameworks.  Better 
promotion  of  EGTCs  in  the  context  of  EU  funding  instruments  —  especially  the  ETC 
programmes— will support their access to EU funds. 

9