Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) as regards the clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and implementation of such groupings

This proposal is the second part of the fulfilment by the Commission of the obligation imposed by Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006. On 29 July 2011, the Commission transmitted a Report on the application of the Regulation. The report identified areas that could be improved and this draft amending Regulation embodies the specific changes that will effect those improvements.

The philosophy behind the changes can be expressed in three keywords: Continuity; Clarity; Flexibility.

- Continuity: because the basic nature of an EGTC will not be changed and no existing EGTC should need to change its statutes or ways of operating;

- Clarity: because the Regulation will be modified (a) to take account of the Lisbon Treaty, (b) to simplify and clarify certain aspects that have been shown to cause confusion and (c) to ensure more visibility and communication on the formation and operation of EGTCs;

- Flexibility: by opening up EGTCs to any aspect of territorial cooperation (and not ‘primarily’ the managing of ERDF-funded programmes and projects) and by providing legal bases for the participation of authorities and regions from third countries to participate as members.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)610: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:610:FIN

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