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The European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)

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Cross-border cooperation received significant support from the European Union in 2006 through the creation of the legal figure of the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). They are regulated by the Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July.

This Regulation has been amended by the Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 Decemberamending the previous one as regards clarification, simplification and improvement of the creation and operation of such groupings.

EGTCs transcend mere cross-border cooperation, as they also include transnational and interregional cooperation. The new European regulation also opens up the possibility of cooperating with third countries that are not members of the Union.

EGTCs are endowed with legal personality and are regulated directly by the aforementioned Regulation and by the complementary regulations of the Member States. The members of these groupings can be both regional and local authorities, as well as public law bodies and the Member States themselves, the latter being the most novel aspect of the regulation. Members must come from at least two states of the European Union.

The constitution and regulation of the EGTCs is included in a territorial cooperation agreement and in the statutes of which each group is endowed in everything related to its organization and operation. The main objective of the EGTCs is to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the geographical area of the EGTCs.

Each group manages its own budget, has its own financial and personnel resources and has the capacity to conclude contracts, all within the limits of the competences attributed to each member of the group by the national legislation applicable to it.

With this figure, the European Union goes beyond the classic concept of cross-border cooperation, understood only between border neighbours, and opens the new path of “territorial cooperation”, in which the States or regions themselves, even non-border ones, can reach agreements that benefit common economic or cultural interests.

In Spain, the Royal Decree 23/2015 of 23 January develops the provisions of the European Regulation, taking into account the amendments introduced by the 2013 reform.

European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation

Constituted:

  • Galicia - North of Portugal
  • Duero-Douro
  • PCS-NET
  • Pyrenees-Mediterranean
  • Pyrenees-Cerdanya
  • Archipelago of the Mediterranean (ARCHIMED)
  • Hospital of Cerdanya
  • Eurocidade Chaves–Verín
  • Euroregion Aquitania-Euskadi-Navarra
  • Iberian Pyramid Belt
  • Cities of Ceramics (AEuCC)
  • European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN EGTC)
  • Cross-Border Country of Art and History. The Catalan valleys of Tec and Ter
  • Leon-Bragança
  • European Mycological Institute (EMI)
  • Interpal-Medio Tejo
  • Eurocity of Guadiana
  • Miño River
  • Pyrenees-Pyrénées
Map of EGTCs