What is an EGTC?
European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation.
A new opportunity for municipalities, regions and states to establish cross-border, transnational or interregional cooperation with similar players of another member state and to fulfil their common objectives this way.
Its aim is discriminationlessness: the local players get the same opportunities within the borders and across the borders.
EGTC is the first legal instrument of the European Union that provides legal personality and frame to the cooperation of European municipalities and regions and the efficient use of Union grants.
The grouping brings the players of at least two member states (municipalities, regional authorities or the state) into a joint organisation. The legal conditions of the grouping are governed by the law of the state where the centre is located. EGTC has legal personality and full legal capacity, may act as an independent legal subject. The grouping has its own budget, organisation and contracting capacity, may acquire mobile or immobile properties, act before a court.
The members elect the chief executive and set up the public assembly consisting of the representatives of the members jointly.
What was the aim of the European Union with the creation of EGTC?
Territorial cooperation could not be implemented efficiently because of the lack of regulation or the difference in member state regulations. Because of this in 2006 the Committee of Regions initiated the creation of a new European legal instrument, the EGTC to facilitate the cooperation of local players and the more efficient use of Union sources.
Regulation
Union regulation: R.1082/2006/EC; R.1032/2013/EU
National regulation: Act LXXV/2014; Government Decree No 485/2017
”The constitution of a grouping (Ister-Granum EGTC) that - owing to the completed national regulation - is the first to acquire legal personality in the European Union was first signed in Hungary” (Luc van den Brande/Committee of the Regions, Chairman).
Who can establish a grouping?
According to the regulation member states, regional authorities, local authorities and public law institutions based on public procurement policy and their groupings. The national regulation allows organisations belonging into the circle of requesters of offers on the basis of the public acquisition act to participate, these are as follows:
· the ministries, the Prime Minister’s Office, organisations authorised to request for offers in public acquisition procedures;
· the state, central budgetary authorities and its budgetary units with partial power over acquisitions performed at the expense of operational allocation provided on the basis of an individual regulation with the approval of the chief executive of the organ in charge of the supervision of the unit, the manager of separated state monetary funds regarding acquisitions required for the performance of its basic functions, social security budgetary organs;
· national minority self governments, budgetary authorities of national minority self governments;
· local governments, local minority self governments, associations of municipal local governments, organisations authorised exclusively by the local government for request of bids within the frame of locally centralised public acquisition procedure, budgetary authorities of local governments, budgetary authorities of local minority self governments, associations of local governments for regional development, regional development councils of the counties, district development councils, regional development councils;
· public foundations;
· the Hungarian National Bank, the Hungarian National State Holding Company, the Hungarian Development Bank Corporation, the Hungarian News Agency Corporation, public service broadcasting companies and those public broadcasting companies whose operation is primarily financed from state or local governmental budget and the National Radio and Television Commission;
· organisations with legal capacity whose establishment is ruled by regulation determining the responsibilities of the organisation, the rules of its management, supervision and control, provided that one or more state organisations or the Parliament or the Government is capable of exercising determinative influence over it or its operation is financed primarily by one or more such organisations (bodies);
· legal personalities that were established for public purpose but not for the performance of industrial or commercial type activities or performs such activities, if the one or more organisations mentioned in this paragraph or the Parliament or the Government is capable of exercising determinative influence over it or its operation is financed primarily by one or more such organisations (bodies);
· organisations with legal capacity that is established by a state organisation (with the exclusion of the state) to perform its basic function and if it is capable of exercising determinative influence over such organisation.
The legal subjects of non-EU member countries can participate in the grouping as well, if it is allowed by the regulations of the third country or the agreements between the member states and third countries.
What are the possible objectives of the establishment of a grouping?
Traffic, transportation, environmental protection, education, training, health care, first aid, energy use, innovation instruments, research and development, culture, creation and development of workplaces, social services, tourism, sport, agriculture.
What sources can be used to reach the objectives?
They can perform their activities and reach their objectives within the frame of structural funds co-financed by EU, with state support or from own sources.
Advantages, disadvantages
· The regulations concerning EGTCs are to be applied in each EU member country, so a grouping can be established anywhere under the same conditions.
· They have legal personality, full legal capacity, own budget, personnel and contracting capacity.
· Border region, cross-border, interregional, twin town, transnational cooperation can all be realised within their frame.
· They cover all types of cooperation opportunities: management of EU programs, implementation of EU projects or cooperation without EU support.
· The legal subjects of non-EU member can also participate.
· The EU created this new instrument in 2006, a long time is required to become familiar with it and use it.
· The practical experiences are not available yet, in Hungary there is one registered EGTC (Ister-Granum EGTC), in Europe about one dozen.
How can an EGTC be established with its centre in Hungary?
After selecting a country for the centre the cooperating partners have to create the draft of the agreement and the constitution. The compulsory contentual elements are provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation 1082/2006/EC (hereinafter: R.) and Act LXXV of 2014, to fill it with content the inclusion of a legal representative is recommended in order to avoid subsequent problems, later during the registration procedure it becomes compulsory.
The participation of each member in the grouping is allowed by the approving body of its own member country. In Hungary it belongs in the sole competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, more details in Government Decree No 485/2017.The EGTC membership is authorized by a national approval authority. The Hungarian approval authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The approval of the superior authority, the draft of the agreement and the statue have to be attached to the request, more details: Relation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Government Decree No 485/2017. The approval of the supervisory body and the draft of the agreement and the constitution should be attached to the application.
After the approval the Ministry registers the EGTC, if the conditions required for the establishment are fulfilled and the members attached the required documents.
Further information on other webpages
Regulation amendments since December 2010
The Act CXXVI of 2010 on the metropolitan and county government offices, on the formation of metropolitan and county government offices which is coherent with the territorial integration, has also amended the Act XCIX of 2007 on European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). The amended law entered into force on 4th December, 2010. The 212/2010. (1st July) government decree on the duties and competences of each minister and those of the State Secretary heading the Prime Minister’s Office connected to the law, and the 283/2010. (15th December) government decree amending the 56/2008. (26th March) government decree on the tasks carriable by the judicial officials, and the 16/2010. (15th December) Regulation of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice on the rules of the EGTC’s process of approval entered into force on 16th December, 2010.
From 2014, the requests for approval for the EGTCs should be handed in to the minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The management of the requests of approval are regulated by the Act CL of 2016 on the general rules of public administrative procedures. The requests arriving to the approval authority should include the planned name, seat, objectives and taska of the grouping.
The following documents should be attached to the request for approval: the draft of EGTC agreement and statutes countersigned by legal representative, and in case these documents were not prepared in Hungarian, the Hungarian translation of them, as well. Furthermore, the organisations listed below should attach the contributions detailed beneath.
Contribution
In the following cases the applicants should attach the consent/contributing declaration of the superior body to their requests concerning that according to the agreement and the statutes proposal the applicant can participate in EGTC.
In case of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries as applicants, the Government; in case of an organ authorised for call for an offer in the course of centralised public procurement, the supervisor organ; in case of beyond the above mentioned central budgetary organ, the supervisor organ of the central budgetary organization is entitled to give contribution.
In case of the separated state monetary fund as applicant, the contribution of the minister responsible for having disposal of the separated state monetary fund and for using it, should be enclosed.
In case of a social security budgetary organ as applicant, the needed contribution is provided by the minister in charge.
In case of prosecutor organs and the National Institute of Criminology applicants, the contribution is given by the public prosecutor.
If the applicant is a territorial or local minority government’s budgetary organ, or local government’s budgetary organ, the resolution involving the contribution of the general assembly or the body of representatives should be attached regarding that the applicant can participate as a member in European Groupings for Territorial Cooperation.
In case of local or minority government as applicant, the extract of the general assembly’s or the body of representatives’ decision over the participation in European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation should be attached.
The procedure of approval
The requests for approval for EGTC membership should be handed in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to the Minister, Péter Szijjártó. (Postal address: 1027 Budapest, Bem rakpart 47.)
Registration
Due to the regulation amendments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade keeps a record of the EGTC members. The data of the registration- including the drafts of statutes and agreements- are public and available without restriction via the Internet. The registration implies the following data:
· the name and seat of the approved applicant
· the name and seat of the EGTC
· the objectives and tasks of the EGTC
· the approval-giving decision’s date of becoming legally binding
The Ministry further keeps a record of the so far registered EGTCs. This record is also available via the Internet.
Further changes
Due to the regulation amendments, the EGTCs can perform entrepreneur activity if that serves the promotion of the area’s competitiveness.