For the establishment of an EGTC, it is essential that the members work in close collaboration. They must define a common goal they wish to achieve, this is the first task when an EGTC is established. After that the responsibilities, competence and the potential members must be defined.
In the next step of the process a decision is made about the registered office of the EGTC, which determines the applicable law, so special consideration must be given to the Member State’s regulation of EGTCs. This is followed by drawing up the draft statues and convention—the use of professional legal help is highly recommended. The parties then make decisions about the obligatory and optional bodies, and have a constitutive session. Then the applications for approval are submitted to the relevant authorities of the Member States, and the EGTC is registered in the home Member State.
The last step of the process is when the registered EGTC is published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Approval procedure
The participation of each member of the grouping is approved by the body responsible for approval in the relevant Member State.
Approval applications for membership in an EGTC must be submitted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, postal address: H-1027 Budapest, Bem rakpart 47.). The approval procedure is conducted pursuant to Act CL of 2016 on the Code of General Administrative Procedure (hereinafter: Administrative Procedure Act) and to the provisions of Government Decree No. 485/2017 (XII. 29.) on the detailed rules of the approval and registration procedures relating to the European grouping of territorial cooperation. Pursuant to the above, the application must be adjudicated in 21 days; this deadline may be extended for an additional 21 days. A time limit no longer than 10 days must be set for the remedy of deficiencies, which may be extended for an additional 10 days.
In addition to the data provided for in the Administrative Procedure Act, the application submitted to the approval body must include the planned name, registered office, objectives and tasks of the EGTC. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the EGTC’s convention and statues, signed by the members and countersigned by a legal representative and, if they are not in Hungarian, a Hungarian translation. A declaration of consent by the superior authority is also required.
Consent
Applications submitted to the approving body by applicants listed below must be accompanied by a declaration of consent from a competent superior body, stating that based on the draft convention and statues the applicant may participate in the EGTC as a member.
- If the applicant is a ministry, the approval is granted by the government; if it is a body authorised to act as contracting authority in centralised purchasing, approval is granted by the supervisory body; if it is a budgetary authority other than those referred to above, approval is granted by the supervisory body of the budgetary authority.
- If the applicant is the budgetary authority of a national or local minority self-government, the budgetary authority of a municipality, an extract from a decision by the municipal council or assembly must be attached to the effect that the applicant may participate in the EGTC as a member.
- If the applicant is a local or minority self-government an extract from a decision by the municipal council or assembly on the participation in the EGTC must be attached.
Remedy against the decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade is available in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
Registration
Once approval has been granted, if the registered office of the EGTC is in Hungary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade registers the EGTC provided that the conditions for its establishment are met and members have attached the required documents (Act LXXV of 2014 on the European grouping of territorial cooperation Section 6).