EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU

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EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU
EGTC
            Good Practice
                 Booklet

July 2018
EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU
This report was written by Sabine Zillmer, Sebastian Hans, Christian Lüer, Amparo Montán (Spatial Foresight), Chien-Hui Hsiung (ÖIR),
Paola Le Moglie and Vittoria Gnetti (t33), with additional editing from Tim Wills (t33).

It does not represent the official views of the European Committee of the Regions.

More information on the European Union and the European Committee of the Regions is available online at
http://www.europa.eu and http://www.cor.europa.eu respectively.

Catalogue number: QG-02-18-918-EN-N
ISBN: 978-92-895-0965-7
doi:10.2863/826842

cover photo ©shutterstock/ eamesBot
EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU
Contents

List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

List of EGTC acronyms and abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

                                2. EGTC Good Practices ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

		                                                              2.1. Cross-border healthcare and emergency services, cross-border access to public services
                                                                                 and European citizenship ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

		                                                              2.2. Cross-border nature disaster prevention and solidarity ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................15

		                                                              2.3. Cross-border nature protection and environmental preservation ............................................................................................................................................................................................................21

		                                                              2.4. Cross-border investments and cross-border transport .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................27

		                                                              2.5. Cooperation for integrated tourism ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................33

		                                                              2.6. Cooperation in education and culture ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................39

		                                                              2.7. Cross-border cooperation for the economy, jobs and growth ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................45

		                                                              2.8. Cooperation to attract EU funding ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................51

		                                                              2.9. +EGTC as facilitator / mediator .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................57

		                                                              2.10. Programme management ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................63

References ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................68

Legal sources ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................69

Annex ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................70

                                Contact information .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................70

                                Footnotes .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................72
EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU
List of abbreviations
Abbreviation                                                     Full term

AEBR           Association of European Border Regions

CBC            Cross-border cooperation

CEF            Connecting Europe Facility

               Commission of Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs of the Committee of the
CIVEX
               Regions

CLLD           Community-led Local Development

CoR            European Committee of the Regions

COTER          Commission of Territorial Cohesion Policy of the European Committee of the Regions

CPMR           Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions

EAFRD          European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ECON           Commission for Economic Policy of the European Committee of the Regions

ECOS           Commission of Economic and Social Policy of the European Committee of the Regions

EGTC           European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation

ENVE           Commission of Environment, Climate Change and Energy of the European Committee of the Regions

ERDF           European Regional Development Fund

ESF            European Social Fund

ESIF           European Structural and Investment Funds

ETC            European Territorial Cooperation

EU             European Union

Europe 2020    Europe 2020 Strategy

EUSAIR         European Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region

EUSALP         European Strategy for the Alpine Region

EUSBSR         European Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

EUSDR          European Strategy for the Danube Region

FTE            Full Time Equivalent

GHG            Green-house gas

ITI            Integrated Territorial Investment

JAP            Joint Action Plan

LRA            Local and Regional authorities

MA             Managing Authority

                                                   EGTC   2   Good Practice Booklet
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MS        Member State

MOT       Mission Opérationelle Transfrontalière

NAT       Commission for Natural Resources of the European Committee of the Regions

OEM       Orient-East-Med Corridor

POCTEFA   Interreg Programme VA Spain-France-Andorra

POCTEP    Interreg Programme VA Spain-Portugal

R&D       Research & Development

          Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture of the European Committee
SEDEC
          of the Regions

SME       Small and medium-sized enterprises

SGEI      Services of general economic interest

SPF       Small Project Fund

SŽDC      Správa železniční dopravní cesty (Czech railway infrastructure administration)

RIS3      Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

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List of EGTC acronyms and abbreviations
All listed EGTCs are in the CoR register. Those in bold are described in detail.

 No   Acronym/ Abbreviation                    Full name (in English or local language of the registered office)
 1    Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai          Eurométropole Lille-Kotrijk-Tournai
 2    Ister-Granum                    Ister-Granum European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation Ltd
 3    GNP                             Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial Galicia – Norte de Portugal
 4    Amphictyony                     EGTC Amphictyony of Twinned Cities and Areas of the Mediterranean
 5    UTTS                            Ung-Tisza-Túr-Sajó (Hernád-Bódva-Szinva) Limited Liability EGTC
 6    Karst-Bodva                     Limited liability European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Karst-Bodva
 7    Duero-Douro                     Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial Duero-Douro
      Flandre-Dunkerque-Côte          Groupement Européen de Coopération Territoriale West Vlaanderen/Flandre-
 8
      d’Opale                         Dunkerque-Côte d’Opale
 9    ArchiMed                        GECT ArchiMed
 10   Pyrénées-Méditerranée           GECT Pyrénées-Méditerranée
      Eurodistrict Strasbourg-
 11                                   GECT Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau
      Ortenau
 12   ZASNET                          Agrupamento Europeu de Cooperação Territorial ZASNET, AECT
 13   HC                              Agrupació Europea de Cooperació Territorial Hospital de Cerdanya
 14   Grande Région                   GECT INTERREG “Programme Grande Région”
 15   SaarMoselle                     Eurodistrict Saarmoselle
 16   ABAÚJ - ABAÚJBAN                ABAÚJ - ABAÚJBAN European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation Ltd
 17   Pons Danubii                    Pons Danubii EGTC
 18   BTC EGTC                        Bánát - Triplex Confinium Limited Liability EGTC
                                      Arrabona Korlátolt Felelősségű Európai Területi Együttműködési Közhasznú
 19   Arrabona
                                      Csoportosulás
                                      “Linieland van Waas en Hulst” Europese Groepering voor Territoriale
 20   Linieland van Waas en Hulst
                                      Samenwerking
      Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige -
 21                                   GECT Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige - Trentino
      Trentino
                                      Territorio dei comuni: Comune di Gorizia (I), Mestna Občina Nova Gorica (Slo) e
 22   GO
                                      Občina Šempeter-Vrtojba (Slo)
 23   Pirineus - Cerdanya             GECT Pirineus – Cerdanya
 24   Espacio Portalet                Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial “Espacio Portalet”
                                      Rába-Duna-Vág European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with Limited
 25   RDV
                                      Liability
      Eurorégion Nouvelle
 26                                   GECT Eurorégion Nouvelle Aquitaine-Euskadi-Navarre
      Aquitaine-Euskadi-Navarre
                                      Gruparea Europeană de Cooperare Teritorială Poarta Europa cu Răspundere
 27   Poarta Europa GECT
                                      Limitata (Poarta Europa GECT)

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BODROGKÖZI Korlátolt Felelősségű Európai Területi Együttműködési Közhasznú
28   BODROGKÖZI
                                      Csoportosulás
                                      Novohrad-Nógrád European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with Limited
29   Novohrad-Nógrád
                                      Liability
30   Pannon                           Pannon European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Ltd.
     Efxini Poli – SolidarCity
31                                    EGTC EFXINI POLI - Network of European Cities for Sustainable Development
     Network
                                      European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation European Urban Knowledge
32   EUKN
                                      Network Limited
33   Euregio Senza Confini            GECT “Euregio Senza Confini r.l.”
34   TRITIA                           European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation TRITIA limited
                                      Sajó - Rima / Slaná - Rimava European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with
35   Sajó-Rima / Slaná-Rimava
                                      Limited Liability
36   Via Carpatia                     European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Via Carpatia Limited
     Parc européen Alpi Marittime
37                                    Parc européen / Parco europeo Alpi Marittime - Mercantour
     – Mercantour
                                      Gruppo Europeo di Cooperazione Territoriale (G.E.C.T) Parco Marino
38   P.M.I.B.B.
                                      Internazionale delle Bocche di Bonifacio (P.M.I.B.B)
     Secrétariat du Sommet de la
39                                    GECT “Secrétariat du Sommet de la Grande Région”
     Grande Région
40   TATRY                            EGTC TATRY Ltd.
41   Spoločný región                  European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Spoločný región limited
42   Torysa                           Torysa European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
43   Svinka                           Svinka European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
44   Alzette Belval                   GECT Alzette Belval
                                      Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial Ciudades de la Cerámica, AECT
45   AEuCC
                                      limitada
46   Eurocity of Chaves-Verín         European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Eurocity of Chaves-Verín
     European Common Future           European Common Future Building European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
47
     Building                         with Limited Liability
                                      Central European Transport Corridor Limited Liability European Grouping of
48   CETC-EGTC
                                      Territorial Co-operation
49   HP-HP                            Huesca Pirineos – Hautes Pyrénées
50   AECT-FPI                         Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial Faja Pirítica Ibérica
                                      European Border Cities European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited
51   European Border Cities
                                      Liability
52   ESPON                            ESPON EGTC – European Node for Territorial Evidence
53   PAHT                             GECT Pays d’Art et d’Histoire Transfrontalier Les Vallées Catalanes du Tech et du Ter
     Interregional Alliance for the
54                                    Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC
     Rhine-Alpine Corridor
55   MASH                             MASH European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
56   Mura Region                      Mura Region European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited Liability

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57   Tisza                       Tisza European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited Liability
58   INTERREG Grande Région      GECT-Autorité de gestion programme INTERREG V A Grande Région
59   NOVUM                       European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation NOVUM Limited
60   León-Bragança               Agrupación Europea de Cooperación Territorial León-Bragança
61   PONTIBUS                    PONTIBUS European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited Liability
62   Eucor The European Campus   Eucor – The European Campus
63   EMI                         European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation “European Mycological Institute”
64   PROUD                       Eisenbahnneubaustrecke Dresden Prag EVTZ
65   Eurodistrict PAMINA         Groupement Européen de Coopération Territoriale Eurodistrict PAMINA
66   Ipoly-völgye                Ipoly-valley European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with Limited Liability
67   DIETAMED                    DIETA MED EGTC
68   HELICAS                     European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation HELICAS
69   MURABA                      MURABA European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited

                                           EGTC    6   Good Practice Booklet
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1. Introduction

European territorial development ob-            jects as well as other European, national         information compared to their individual
jectives date back to the European Spa-         and regional projects, enhancing eco-             members. Finally, EGTCs can combine
tial Development Perspective and were           nomic, social and territorial cohesion.           multiple tasks and functions mirroring
further detailed in the Territorial Agenda                                                        the versatility of the instrument. Public
2020 (TA 2020). TA 2020 highlights that         EGTCs are often multi-level governance            stakeholders can develop their EGTC in
integrating territories is crucial to foster-   instruments, bringing together authorities        line with their joint needs, at local or na-
ing competitiveness. Barriers can inhibit       from different countries, administrative lev-     tional level, focusing on small projects or
the full use of resources in border regions,    els and policy sectors. This happens both         networking, managing infrastructure or
which increases their peripheral posi-          within the EGTC membership and through            facilitating policy processes.
tion. The European Grouping of Territo-         involvement in the project or other activi-
rial Cooperation (EGTC) was introduced          ties. EGTCs are suitable as cross-border mi-      To shed light on the different functions
in 2006 to overcome these barriers and          cro laboratories to develop public services,      and strengths this booklet illustrates
assist public authorities in different Mem-     new public transport and new approaches           good practices of 21 EGTCs and select-
ber States looking to implement actions         for cross-border education.                       ed projects managed by EGTCs across
across national boundaries.                                                                       Europe. These examples are based on
                                                EGTCs also play an important planning             the 2016 and 2017 CoR EGTC monitoring
                                                role in functional areas such as environ-
The EGTC instrument enables public ac-                                                            reports and additional close communica-
                                                mental protection, transport planning,
tors to establish an international entity                                                         tion with the EGTCs. Seven sections of this
                                                integrated tourism and economic co-
under European law. This legal instrument                                                         publication cover typical policy fields and
                                                operation. They less frequently manage
complements funding instruments for                                                               actions in which EGTCs are engaged. The
                                                ETC programmes, in whole or part, or
European Territorial Cooperation (ETC),                                                           last three sections look at funding sources
                                                cross-border infrastructure.
as known as Interreg, to strengthen eco-                                                          and functions beyond project implemen-
nomic, social and territorial cohesion. The     The many examples in this booklet high-           tation and service delivery.
legal entity provides a stable structure for    light strengths of the EGTC instrument.
public actors at different levels to cooper-    Firstly, communication is key and mul-            This is not an exhaustive list. There are
ate, which helps multi-level governance         tilingual communication often creates             many more good practices of EGTCs and
within the EU and with Third countries.         new opportunities for cross-border in-            especially projects, some of which are
                                                tegration. Secondly, with their European          mentioned in less detail. Cross-references
As of December 2017, there were 68              legal basis EGTCs tend to be more visible         between different sections of the booklet
EGTCs in the EU, with several more being        than comparable structures. Thirdly, not          illustrate the integrated approaches of
set-up1. These EGTCs fulfil many different      least because of the legal form, EGTCs are        many EGTCs.
purposes, all of which aim to add value         increasingly acknowledged as strategic
through long-term territorial coopera-          players and suitable for promoting the            These approaches highlight a few general
tion, going beyond the project horizon.         interests of local and regional authorities       points:
EGTCs contribute to implementing ETC            at EU level, mostly this through their net-       –– Good collaboration in EGTCs usually
programmes and Cohesion Policy pro-             works. They can also have better access to           builds with experience.

1 CoR, 2018, p. 127 ff.

                                                             EGTC    7    Good Practice Booklet
EGTC Good Practice Booklet - Europa EU
–– Careful integration step-by-step and          –– Define a clear task for the EGTC. The            to function properly, from premises,
   focusing on what is most important               EGTC is not an end in itself and cannot          phones and computers to employment
   helps.                                           cover everything. Especially at the be-          contracts, internal forms and archives.
–– Put the joint interest up front. The inter-      ginning it is important to have a list of      –– EGTCs should use their stable structure.
   ests of individual members should not            tasks and priorities.                             They can develop long-term strategies
   be at the centre of the EGTC. The differ-     –– Reaching operability takes time. Very             and visions, but EGTC members usually
   ence is in the joint effort.                     often all efforts are put into the foun-          expect to see value-added also in the
–– Professionalism, clarity and transparen-         dation process so on day one expecta-             short-run. Though institutionalised co-
   cy help make the EGTC a reliable part-           tions are high. However, it is important          operation becomes more durable with
   ner in European matters.                         to make sure the EGTC has the capacity            further projects.

                                                              EGTC    8    Good Practice Booklet
2. EGTC Good Practices

2.1. Cross-border healthcare and emergency services, cross-border access
     to public services and European citizenship

TA 2020 states that better access to ser-      ity cross-border healthcare in the Union           Many SGEI are offered in small local ar-
vices of general interest is key for ter-      and to ensure patient mobility […] to              eas. So, cross-border EGTCs tend to be
ritorial cohesion and aims for cheaper         promote cooperation on healthcare be-              better placed to provide SGEI, including
and fairer access to services throughout       tween Member States…”3.                            for health. EGTCs with a transnational or
Europe. Decreasing infrastructure barri-                                                          interregional focus may be less suitable.
ers to services will increase competitive-     Amendment of the EGTC regulation in
ness and help to sustainably develop           2013 made it easier for EGTCs to provide           EGTCs as cross-border legal bodies can
the European Union territory2.                 public services. This included the explic-         manage infrastructure and can also con-
                                               it possibility that undertakings provid-           tribute to cross-border SGEI indirectly.
Cross-border cooperation can often re-         ing services of general economic inter-            EGTC supporting services can give citi-
sult in better quality, more effective and     est (SGEI) may be members of an EGTC.              zens better access to SGEI and can initi-
more efficient emergency and health            Secondly, managing infrastructure and              ate collaboration between stakeholders
care services. Directive 2011/24/EU            providing SGEI have been noted as                  that leads to cross-border services.
addresses the application of patients’         EGTC tasks. Thirdly, EGTCs can generate
rights as it “… aims to establish rules for    revenues and income from the services.
facilitating access to safe and high-qual-

2   TA 2020, 2011, para. 35
3   European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2011, Article 10

                                                             EGTC    9    Good Practice Booklet
Francesc Bonet, director of the EGTC

                                     “The first bi-national hospital in Europe. Bringing cross-border,
                                                    specialised healthcare, closer to the community.”

     Name of the EGTC                             Duration of the EGTC                              Registered office and MS covered
 AECT-Hospital de Cerdanya/GECT-              Since 26 April 2010                                Spain (base) and France
 Hôpital de Cerdagne (HC EGTC)

The real success of this bi-national hospital is providing equal access to
healthcare for citizens in both Member States.
The economy of the Cerdanya/Capcir re-        health agencies, Catalan Health Service            S­ eptember 2014, the EGTC has become
gion in the Pyrenees is highly dependent      (CatSalut) and Regional Health Agency               the hospital of choice for French resi-
on tourism, so there are significantly more   (ARS) are in all the governing bodies, es-          dents, with the number of French pa-
people in the region during the summer        pecially the Executive Bureau, responsible          tients steadily growing since 2014. Initial
and ski seasons. The region had poor          for managing the hospital.                          difficulties of multilingual communica-
hospital facilities, as the hospital in the                                                       tion between doctors and patients have
Spanish town of Puigcerdà was outdated        There were administrative and legal dif-            been overcome.
and not available to French residents ex-     ficulties in situations and procedures
cept for emergencies and high risk births.    not covered by European law, but which             The HC EGTC is perceived by the Catalan
French residents had to travel more than      needed to be addressed by Spanish leg-             public as offering much better facilities
100 km to the nearest French hospital. HC     islation as the EGTC is based in Spain. Ad-        and being better equipped than the old
EGTC was founded to build a cross-bor-        ministrative and cultural problems have            hospital. The French public appreciates
der hospital, to provide better hospital      been overcome or at least reduced with             the improvement in access to specialised
care with equal access for inhabitants and    agreed, simplified procedures.                     hospital care, closer to home and with
tourists in both Member States.                                                                  shorter waiting times.
                                              The hospital creates EU added-value
The main HC EGTC stakeholders are the         through a jointly managed facility in the          An important lesson of the HC EGCT is
public healthcare systems of France and       region with greater cooperation between            that interested parties should thoroughly
Catalonia. Representatives of the two         the two regions. Since its opening in              study all legal and practical obstacles be-

                                                           EGTC     10   Good Practice Booklet
fore opening a jointly managed facility as    technology compatibility. They should           be replaced by an EGTC, complete with
complex as a hospital. Bilateral task forc-   also map all possible partners and associ-      training for staff at all levels, is critical and
es should investigate labour conditions       ates in the region. A good transition plan      should be implemented well before the
and recruitment as well as information        covering existing organisations that may        new facility opens.

So far, HC EGTC is the only example of        ferent solutions had to be developed.           tutions and citizens before the EGTC
an EGTC managing a cross-border hos-          For registration of newly born French           was founded, however the EGTC cre-
pital. The joint approach allowed im-         nationals, the hospital entered into an         ated added value through practical
proved health care access by tackling         agreement with the French regional              effects on the day-to-day lives of local
two different interests. The Spanish side     health insurance authorities to permit
                                                                                              inhabitants. This would not be achieved
suffered from an outdated hospital and        new-borns to be covered by the insur-
                                                                                              through domestic services or by an
the French population was forced to           ance of their parents. Simplifying the
drive for two hours to access hospital        transfer of deceased French residents           EGTC with regional authorities only. De-
care. The new hospital became feasible        required a bilateral agreement between          velopment and implementation of the
also through ERDF co-funding.                 the two Member States. Not all every-           “Eurocitizen Card” is the flagship project
                                              day problems have been solved yet,              of the EGTC.
The EGTC was founded in 2010 and pro-         however these examples illustrate how
vides hospital services to a permanent        different challenges can be overcome            This is one of the projects the EGTC
population of some 33,000 inhabitants,        step by step through very different             implements under the Interreg VA
plus many visitors during the tourist         solutions. This is confirmed by the high        Spain-Portugal        Cooperation     Pro-
seasons. The EGTC had to tackle some          satisfaction of French patients.
                                                                                              gramme. ETC funding also helps its
challenging obstacles when it started
                                                                                              members to collaborate on public ser-
operating. For example, registration of       The second interesting example is the
                                                                                              vices. Sector working commissions are
new-born babies of French residents           Eurocity of Chaves-Verín on the Span-
and the transfer of deceased French           ish-Portuguese border. The immediate            crucial as technicians from both munic-
citizens presented an issue as the hos-       proximity of the two cities Chaves and          ipalities work together on specific are-
pital is located in Spain. The original       Verín encourage cooperation on a vast           as. This facilitates other joint municipal
administrative procedures were time           range of topics. Cross-border relations         services, including culture, sports, edu-
consuming and complicated, so dif-            were intense between the cities’ insti-         cation, waste and tourism.

                                                          EGTC   11   Good Practice Booklet
Pablo M. Rivera Búa, Executive Manager of the EGTC

                                         “The Chaves-Verín EGTC has established itself as a laboratory
                                          for European integration, making the border an opportunity
                                           for economic and social development that has increased the
                                                                    happiness indicator of its citizens.”

     Name of the EGTC               Duration of the EGTC                 Registered office and MS covered                     EGTC members
 Eurocity                        Approved on                          Based in Verín,                                      Spain (base) and
 of Chaves-Verín                 17 July 2013                         Spain and Portugal                                   France

Despite limited responsibilities at local level, the EGTC has implemented
joint management mechanisms that tackle costs related to the ­cross-
border context.
The idea of creating the Eurocity of              ordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional                      and its members (in many cases com-
Chaves-Verín was born in 2007 from the            do Norte (CCDR-N), in Portugal. The co-                   petence lies with the Member States),
need to find ways of adding value to the          operation with other networks and local                   Eurocity of Chaves-Verín has implement-
area by coordinating municipal services           stakeholders in the economic, social, cul-                ed joint management mechanisms that
and facilities across the border. Its objec-      tural, educational and environmental sec-                 help reduce costs normally incurred due
tive is to promote institutional, economic,       tors make the Eurocity a unique space for                 to the cross-border context.
social, cultural and environmental con-           European integration, which is called the                 The fundamental added value of the
vergence for people in both cities. This          “Free Social Border”.                                     EGTC Eurocity of Chaves-Verín is its posi-
implied a new perspective on the border           Obstacles and barriers that challenge lo-                 tion as a laboratory for European integra-
to see a joint development opportunity.           cal daily life have been identified, from                 tion. Citizens have a feeling of belonging
In 2010, the two municipalities began             the lack of harmonised regulations and                    to the same community. It also makes
establishing the EGTC which received ap-          simplified transport, to difficulties in ac-              the subsidiarity principle a reality. Citizens
proval on 17 July 2013.                           cessing health care and different levels of               participate in decision-making based on
                                                                                                            the concept of “Euro-citizenship”.
                                                  civil protection, public security and emer-
The EGTC is supported by the Xunta de             gency medical services. Despite the lim-                  Inhabitants, the “Eurocitizens”, live in a
Galicia, in Spain and the Comissão de Co-         ited responsibilities assigned to the EGTC                “free social zone” and have more public

                                                               EGTC    12     Good Practice Booklet
services, while enjoying the same ad-      swimming pools, hot springs, facilities          The Eurocity has made it possible to con-
vantages and benefits. For example, the    and school sports, computer rooms,               vert both municipalities into an attractive
“Eurocitizen Card” (Winner of the Regio    training activities and much more. There         area for public and private investments
Stars Award 2015) allows inhabitants       are currently over 10,000 Eurocitizen            that, in turn, promote the common and
of the two neighbourhoods to enjoy         Card holders, some 18% of the Eurocity’s         efficient use of existing resources by
discounts for public services, including   58,000 inhabitants.                              “Eurocitizens”.

Both examples show that cooperation        GNP EGTC is investigating innovative             project targeted at service provision in
on public services, including health,      ways to develop joint public services            the cross-border region.
can be facilitated by EGTCs, bringing      across the northern border of Spain and
immediate and visible added value for      Portugal. The Eurodistrict SaarMoselle           EGTCs contribute to service develop-
local citizens. These examples highlight   develops joint strategies for social cohe-       ment by testing new tailor-made ap-
EGTCs that implement SGEI either by        sion through cross-border health care.           proaches to answer local needs such
managing infrastructure or by provid-      As a first step, emergency cardiovascu-          as the new service highlighted by the
                                                                                            Duero-Douro EGTC (see section ‘nature
ing supporting services that ease ac-      lar patients from France can access the
                                                                                            disaster prevention’). This has initiated
cess to public services. The Eurocity of   cardiology centre on the German side
                                                                                            a day care service for elderly people in
Chaves-Verín is an example for apply-      of the border, which has considerably            rural municipalities that does not in-
ing an experimental approach. Many         reduced their travel time. The EGTC Eu-          clude medical care, but provides daily
other EGTCs also contribute to provid-     rodistrict PAMINA, founded in 2017 be-           assistance at home and offers leisure
ing SGEI, though often this takes place    tween France and Germany in the Up-              activities for the elderly to allow them
more indirectly.                           per Rhine valley, is initiating an Interreg      to remain in the rural municipalities.

                                                        EGTC   13   Good Practice Booklet
2.2. Cross-border nature disaster prevention and solidarity

Natural hazards do not stop at nation-      macro-regional and sea-basin strate-               flammable biomass. Grazing goats could
al borders. TA 2020 points out that the     gies is an explicit investment priority for        help reduce the risk of forest fires by
risk for natural hazards is ever increas-   transnational cooperation6.                        cleaning the forest of the dead biomass
ing as an effect of the climate change.                                                        and, at the same time goats can fertilise
This includes not only rising sea levels    Prevention measures to mitigate natural            the soil and contribute to better income
but droughts, desertification, floods and   disasters are mostly organised through             opportunities for rural farmers. The so-
other hazards4. Because of the multiple     domestic policies in the EU, though an             called ‘Self-Prevention’7 project could
aspects of climate change, individual       EGTC can facilitate cross-border coopera-          bring multiple stakeholders together.
policy responses are needed in specific     tion and assist bridging borders if natural
areas. Often this requires cooperation      hazard prevention is a matter of national          A self-organisational model has been
across national borders, because many       sovereignty. Cross-border cooperation              developed in the EGTC Duero-Douro
borders have geographic barriers such       can help by joining forces, providing              that brings together more than 200
as bodies of water or mountain ranges.      quicker access to an affected area from            municipalities whose limited individual
Solutions may need to be cross-border       across the border as well as more infor-           resources limit their actions. The EGTC
or even transnational. ERDF investment      mation about hazards.                              is a tool in the rural region to identify
priorities for 2014-2020 support adapta-                                                       common challenges for members and
tion to climate change, including eco-      One example is the self-organisational             develop joint solutions that are under
system-based approaches and invest-         model developed by the Duero-Douro                 the responsibility of the local authori-
ments to address specific risks, enhance    EGTC, founded on the Spanish-Portu-                ties. Participatory mechanisms, such as
disaster reliance and develop disaster      guese border in an arid area with a high           sector committees, manage the differ-
management systems5. In addition, sup-      risk of forest fire. Recurring forest fires are    ent themes and determine priorities for
port for developing and coordinating        mostly caused by uncleared, highly in-             cross-border cooperation.

4 TA 2020, 2011, para. 20
5 Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013, Art. 5(5)
6 Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013, Art.7(1)(b)
7 See: http://www.self-prevention.com/index.php?pagina=projecto&lang=uk&tit=%20Self-Prevention.com%20%7C%20The%20Project

                                                          EGTC   15    Good Practice Booklet
José Luis Pascual, Director General of Duero-Douro EGTC

                                            “The EGTC Regulation in 2006 was an opportunity for the
                                        territories to take decisions on their day-to-day concerns and
                                                              make the subsidiarity principle a reality.”

    Name of the project      Duration                  Registered office and MS covered           Project partners
 Self-organisational      The project was           Portugal (base) and Spain.              The EGTC includes more than 200 municipalities
 model, developed         developed during 2017.    The project addresses                   in the Spanish-Portuguese border area. The
 by the Duero-Douro       The EGTC was founded      stakeholders from both                  project should be managed by a company to be
 EGTC                     on 21 March 2009.         sides of the border.                    set-up by the EGTC and external partners.

Duero-Douro is working to manage services for people on both sides of
the border.
Duero-Douro EGTC was established            in continuously attracting new munici-                    vate participation for fire prevention in
to take decisions as close to citizens as   palities as members.                                      forests. The idea is for goats to clean the
possible. It planned to have an active      The EGTC focuses on services for mem-                     forests and avoid fires in areas inaccessi-
role in managing ETC programmes as          ber municipalities and their inhabit-                     ble for machinery. Raising goats would
Managing Authority or as a member of        ants. A major activity is managing the                    also provide meat and dairy products,
the Monitoring Committee. For several       electricity supply in 162 municipalities                  and the project would encourage people
reasons that was not possible, including    which are small. This contract should                     to remain in the area. However, the high
subsidiarity. Duero-Douro is made up of     save 86% of electricity supply cost, al-                  investment needed and low participation
local authorities and would like to take    lowing the municipalities to use funds                    of public administrations and land own-
decisions across the whole area, though     for other priorities. In addition, house-                 ers means the project has not been im-
local or regional authorities are clearly   holds get electricity significantly cheap-                plemented so far.
responsible.                                er, as the EGTC cannot make a profit.                     Citizens in the cross-border area are
Duero-Douro members include over 200        Duero-Douro is now organising a simi-                     aware that some services are provided
local authorities, 65% of which are munic-  lar structure for water distribution in the               to municipalities in both Member States.
                                            area.
ipalities of less than 250 inhabitants and                                                            They may not know the specifics of an
85% are municipalities of less than 1,000 In past years, Duero-Douro created a                        EGTC but they see that activities are real-
inhabitants. Duero-Douro has ­succeeded­ self-organisational model of public-pri-                     ised with other municipalities.

                                                         EGTC     16      Good Practice Booklet
The EGTC faced the issue of contracting       The main lesson for Duero-Douro is the un-      the EGTC did not achieve the intended im-
staff in two Member States. For a long        realised expectation that the EGTC Regula-      pacts, which is partly due to different par-
time, it was not possible to contract staff   tion opened. The EGTC wanted to support         ties governing at local and regional level.
in Portugal as the EGTC is Spanish, but       decision-making in rural areas. However,
this was solved in the end.                   bringing municipalities together through

The next example is a project of EGTC         and the need to provide information in          ute to tailor-made approaches, from
Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige - Trentino.       different languages across borders. The         project implementation to an approach
The EGTC was founded in 2011 and is           three member regions of the EGTC are            for future action. The example of the av-
a collaboration of three regions from         popular skiing resorts where tourists           alanche monitoring project also high-
Italy and Austria. The EGTC has a yearly      and locals travel between the regions           lights how EGTC and cross-border coop-
work programme with 20-25 projects            depending on weather conditions. The            eration have introduced a rationale for
financed and managed by the EGTC it-          project website summarises the under-           change. Facilitating cross-border tour-
self. Working topics in recent years were     lying problem: A Tyrolean who likes to          ism and mobility involves coordinating
based on the Euregio Science Fund, Mo-        ski off-pistein Trentino often lacks the        the avalanche monitoring systems in
bility Fund for university students and       latest data on weather conditions and           three regions. The EGTC instrument has
teachers, Music Camp, Summer Camp             avalanche risks, except Tyroleans speaks        provided the necessary governance
and Sport Camp and the Euregio Acade-         Italian fluently. The joint avalanche           structure.
my. Complementing this, the EGTC also         monitoring report will create added val-
covers energy, the environment and            ue for citizens and tourists in the three       Another example worth mentioning is
­nature.                                      regions and shows how connectedness             an Interreg project of the Eurodistrict
                                              of Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige - Trentino       PAMINA targeting the acquisition of
The EGTC is implementing an avalanche         benefits people.                                amphibious vehicles and training fa-
monitoring system, together with its                                                          cilities for civil protection volunteers
project partners. The ALBINA project is       Both examples highlight the experi-             in Germany and France. So far, there
co-financed by the Interreg VA Italy-Aus-     mental character of EGTC actions and            are few other concrete EGTC projects
tria Cooperation Programme. It ac-            illustrate the versatility of the EGTC in-      for civil protection and natural hazard
knowledges the threat from avalanches         strument. The EGTCs create or contrib-          ­prevention.

                                                          EGTC   17   Good Practice Booklet
Dr Christoph Mitterer, Avalanche Warning Services Tyrol, Regional Government of Tyrol

                                    “Avalanche danger ignores administrative boundaries. With the
                                       help of the EGTC we can strengthen, modernise and improve
                                                     avalanche forecasting in the heart of the Alps.”

     Name of the project             Duration           Registered office              Project partners
 EUREGIO AVALANCHE                30 months,            and MS covered            Project partners: EGTC Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige -
 WARNING FORECAST                 since              Austria (the                 Trentino with the Avalanche Warning Services of Tyrol,
 ALBINA, with Euregio             October            region of Tyrol),            South Tyrol and Trento as associated partners and
 Tirolo - Alto Adige -            2016               Italy (the regions           University of Vienna, Department of Geography and
 Trentino EGTC as project                            of South Tyrol               Regional Research, Working Group Cartography and
 partner                                             and Trento)                  Geoinformation Science

The ALBINA project allows the project partners to offer a single,
multilingual state-of-the-art avalanche warning and forecasting system
for Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trento.
The ALBINA project, funded by the               but administrative boundaries do not                      tation, modelling weather conditions,
cross-border cooperation programme It-          stop avalanches and the danger varies                     and design and communication.
aly-Austria, is currently setting-up a joint    from valley to valley. The project part-
                                                                                                          One crucial problem is related to cultur-
avalanche warning system for Tyrol in           ners are therefore merging and mod-
Austria and the autonomous provinces            ernising the existing, separate, warning                  al differences between Germanic and
of South Tyrol and Trento in Italy. In re-      and forecasting systems to cover the                      Latin countries regarding colour codes
cent decades, cross-border mobility be-         entire Euregio with one system. The pro-                  and colour perception. A design and
tween the three regions has increased           ject partners are the EGTC (lead partner)                 communication agency helps project
especially for backcountry recreation.          with three Avalanche Warning Services                     partners to understand these differences
Tourists and locals select a ski area for       as associated partners and the University                 and develop solutions. Another problem
the next day depending on the weather,          of Vienna. Three additional institutions                  is the schedule and validity of warnings
snowpack and skiing conditions. Ava-            were subcontracted to support the pro-                    that vary between the three services. In
lanche warnings play an important role,         ject with specific expertise, for interpre-               Tyrol the warning is published at 7.30

                                                              EGTC      18   Good Practice Booklet
and valid for the entire day; in South Tyrol   development and is currently only used          in their respective languages. The project
at 16.00 and valid for the next day; and in    internally. Experts can enter warnings          also enables the partners to update the
Trento at 13.00 and valid for the next two     in their respective mother tongues and          content of their warning systems (real
to three days. The project partners have       these are automatically translated into         warnings and forecasts instead of now-
now harmonised the three schedules so          German, Italian and English through             cast reports), methodologies (micro-re-
warnings will be published at 17.00 and        a catalogue of predefined sentenc-              gions can be aggregated flexibly and
be valid for the next day (0.00-24.00) with    es. In the future, the system will also         dynamically) and communication meth-
a morning update at 8.00. To develop a         cover French. The new website will be           ods (for mobile devices). The new system
joint approach and convince authorities        launched in October 2018 during a con-          will meet most current requirements. In
was time consuming.                            gress on avalanche research in Innsbruck        technical terms, single modules can be
                                               and will be accessible to tourists and lo-      exported to other regions and more re-
Other solutions include the new soft-
                                               cals for the 2018/2019 skiing ­season.          gions can be integrated into the system.
ware, which is already being tested in
Trento. There is also an online portal that    The ALBINA project merges three sepa-           The warning system may even, one day,
covers the entire region, with different       rate systems into one multilingual sys-         cover the entire Alpine region, offering
layers concerning snow cover and local         tem, allowing tourists and locals to re-        detailed warnings for all regions in all Al-
weather conditions. This portal is under       ceive warnings for the entire Euroregion        pine languages.

Another transnational example is the           group (see section ‘integrated tourism’).       servation. Despite these few examples,
involvement of the EGTC Euregio Sen-           This group contributes to protection            other EGTCs are interested in the field as
za Confini as president of the Alpine          against natural disasters, mitigation of        they pointed out during preparation of
Convention “Mountain Forest” working           climate change and ecosystem con-               the 2017 EGTC monitoring report.

                                                           EGTC   19   Good Practice Booklet
2.3. Cross-border nature protection and environmental preservation

Well-functioning and protected eco-              Rhine valley). Though belonging to the            Reserve, which in 2015 was approved as a
systems as well as the preservation and          same ecosystem, management and pro-               one of the 20 UNESCO transboundary bio-
development of natural, landscape and            tection is subject to different national pol-     sphere reserves worldwide.10 Biosphere
cultural heritage is key to stable and sus-      icy regimes. In addition, responsibilities        reserves promote nature conservation
tainable development. Excessive use can          may be at different administrative levels         while also facilitating development and
cause irreversible damage to these areas,        on either side of the border. Different na-       supporting education and scientific re-
hampering territorial development and            tional priorities can negatively affect the       search. Meseta Ibérica Biosphere Reserve
the quality of life for citizens8. Nature pro-   cross-border ecosystem.                           includes a wide variety of landscapes,
tection, however, does not exclude capi-                                                           from 100 to 2,000 metres above sea level
talising resources and ecosystem services
                                                 The EGTC instrument can not only com-             and contains many flagship species. Sim-
can add value to the territory and unlock
                                                 bine efforts to protect and conserve but          ilarly important are the forts and castles
resources. The EU Biodiversity Strategy
                                                 also can coordinate policies of Member            from Roman times and the Middle Ages
adopted in 2011 has a headline target to
halt “the loss of biodiversity and the deg-      States sharing the cross-border ecosys-           that create a rich cultural heritage.
radation of ecosystem services in the EU         tem, as highlighted in the following three
by 2020, and restoring them in so far as         very different examples.                          This combination of environmental pro-
feasible …”9.                                                                                      tection and integrated development pro-
                                                 ZASNET EGTC helps to coordinate, devel-           vides the basis for the EGTC that covers
Many European ecosystems such as                 op and steer responses to common chal-            the cross-border territory. The EGTC is not
mountain ranges, coastal areas and wa-           lenges along the northern border of Por-          only a networking platform for its mem-
ter bodies cross national borders (e.g.          tugal and Spain. The EGTC manages the             bers but it also implements biosphere
Carpathians, Alps, Pyrenees, Adriatic Sea,       cross-border Meseta Ibérica Biosphere             reserve projects.

8 TA 2020, 2011, para. 23
9 COM(2011) 244 final, p.2
10 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphere-programme/

                                                              EGTC   21    Good Practice Booklet
Ana Carvalho, Director of Zasnet EGTC

                                              “Zasnet was created to give a structure to the work on the
                                                           common territory and common challenges.”

    Name of the         Duration        Registered office          Project partners
    project         Since               and MS covered      Municipality of Zamora, Province of Salamanca, Province of Zamora,
 Zasnet EGTC        19 March        Portugal (base)         Association of Municipalities of Terra Fria Transmontana, Association of
                    2010            and Spain               Municipalities of Terra Quente Transmontana, Municipality of Bragança

Zasnet adds value to the natural and cultural heritage of the cross-border
area, focusing on attracting new economic activities to encourage local
people to stay.
Zasnet was created to give structure to        ish and Portuguese authorities helped                 heritage project recently submitted to
the work and the common challenges             a lot in creating and implementing the                the Interreg CBC Spain-Portugal pro-
of the cross-border territory (Spain and       EGTC.                                                 gramme is “Sustainable lighting and
Portugal), which has huge potential in                                                               Starlight Destination”. This will ena-
terms of natural and cultural heritage.        The EGTC manages the UNESCO Bio-                      ble sustainable and scenic lighting of
Several cooperation bodies were active         sphere Reserve of Meseta Ibérica, a                   landmark buildings, which should con-
in the area and the EGTC was established       cross-border area that covers all au-                 tribute to increased tourism.
to give stability in promoting sustainable     thorities involved in the EGTC except
tourism, sustainable employment and            for one. The Bisophere Reserve prompt-                If the project is approved, it will include
other aspects to help development of the       ed other project ideas, such as ‘Cultur-              telescopes for looking at stars, which are
cross-border territory.                        al Heritage, native products, nature                  more visible with the reduced glare of
                                               and tourism’, which is now financed                   sustainable lighting. This combination
Zasnet has very good connections with          by the Interreg CBC Spain-Portugal                    of projects linked to Biosphere Reserve
the stakeholders, who provide expert           programme. One part promotes ‘Mas-                    management illustrates how natural and
help for specific topics such as tourism       caradas de Invierno’ (Winter Masks) for               cultural heritage can be preserved in an
and employment. The good will of Span-         UNESCO recognition. Another cultural                  integrated way using the EGTC. Zasnet

                                                            EGTC      22     Good Practice Booklet
gives additional value to the natural and       The media do not usually cover activities         related to cultural heritage are well pre-
cultural heritage of the cross-border area      of the EGTC. Although the EGTC aims to            served, including traditions, a culture
and the focus on attracting new econom-         increase the region’s attractiveness, this        of slow food and other aspects with a
ic activities to the territory should encour-   is difficult to grasp for an older popula-        lot of potential to promote sustainable
age people to stay.                             tion. On the other hand, many elements           ­tourism.

The second example is an Integrated             park Alpi Marittime. It is a rare example        velopment, adding value to the natural
Territorial Investment (ITI) initiated and      of an EGTC with an exclusive focus on            capital of the protected areas. EGTCs
implemented by EGTC GO on the Ita-              park area preservation and develop-              can manage, act as implementation
ly-Slovenia border. The EGTC was set-up         ment, which is linked to the members,            bodies for projects, develop networks
by the three cities of Gorizia, Nova Gori-      who are the two parks.                           for specific issues and coordinate strate-
zia and Sempeter-Vrtojba to strategical-                                                         gic plans for a territory’s development.
ly coordinate policies for the area. This       The parks have a unique natural and
includes transport and logistics, man-          cultural heritage that can be best pre-          Nature protection and preservation of
agement of energy and environmen-               served by close collaboration. The EGTC          the environment are topics of interest
tal resources as well as other sectors
                                                has a joint mission regarding the pro-           for many other EGTCs. Most often these
strengthening cohesion in the territory.
                                                tection and enhancement of cultural,             are cross-border EGTCs with a cross-the-
Consequently, the EGTC is involved in
                                                landscape and natural wealth. For the            matic regional development focus. They
jointly managing natural and cultural
                                                2014-2020 period, commonly defined               are involved in very different ways, in-
heritage services in the three cities. The
                                                objectives are detailed in an action plan        cluding cooperation on tourism, cultur-
ITI project “Cross-border natural park
Isonzo-Soca” capitalises on natural as-         which is implemented through projects            al heritage, rural development, forestry
sets in the border region. The ITI was          that are partly co-funded by the Inter-          and others. The GNP EGTC on the Span-
designed to support several objectives          reg VA Alcotra Cooperation Programme.            ish-Portuguese border, for instance,
of the EGTC territorial strategy.                                                                develops multiple cross-border topics
                                                These examples illustrate different ways         on behalf of its members, including
The third example is the Parc européen          to facilitate stable collaboration for nat-      improving environmental quality and
Alpi Marittime–Mercantour EGTC be-              ural protection and environment pres-            protecting natural heritage. Together
tween Italy and France, which builds on         ervation. A stable working structure that        with other partners, TRITIA EGTC start-
more than 20 years of cooperation. It           coordinates the interests of its members         ed implementing the Interreg CENTRAL
was founded to facilitate and promote           can ease decision-making and improve             EUROPE project AIR TRITIA in 2017. The
cooperation among its members in pro-           policies that affect the protected areas         project targets improved air quality by
tecting, promoting, and managing the            with truly joint approaches. This un-            developing a unified spatial informa-
natural, cultural and landscape heritage        locks new potential through combining            tion database, new management, pol-
of the area including the French nation-        the preservation of natural and cultural         lution prediction tools and air quality
al park Mercantour and Italian nature           heritage or facilitating soft tourism de-        strategies.

                                                             EGTC   23   Good Practice Booklet
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