The Grouping was established to facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational and transregional cooperation among its members in order to strengthen economic and social cohesion, particularly through the implementation of projects and programmes of territorial cooperation with the following objectives:
- The facilitation and promotion of the improvement of transport accessibility along the length of the North-South axis of multimodal transport from the Baltic to the Adriatic Seas and possibly along the potential branch of the corridor towards the Black Sea, and in any case within the operational area of the Grouping;
- Sustainable support to the development of the economies of the regions involved that would translate into the improvement of the employment indices and the quality of the natural environment and the living conditions of those living there;
- Actions to enhance the compatibility of the transport infrastructure among the regions involved;
- Ensuring support and conditions for the development of intermodal transport connections, thus spreading environmentally friendly solutions,with or without co-financing from the European Union, through the implementation of programmes within territorial cooperation and own actions.
Review of activities 2018
Modification of membership
In 2018 Karlovačka County resign from Grouping.
Changes in convention/statutes
The statutes and convention were amended on 23 January 2018 in connection with the change of status of the Croatian partner.
Tasks
- The Grouping implemented measures aimed at raising awareness among EU institutions, government and local-government administration, as well as local authorities, of the significance of CETC-EGTC Ltd. as an instrument of territorial cohesion, especially with regard to transport priorities. One of such measures included a presentation of the activities of the Grouping at the “MECHANISMS OF LOCAL-GOVERNMENT COOPERATION AT THE EUROPEAN LEVELˮ Seminar in Warsaw on 25 September 2018.
- The Grouping co-organised the International Conference “Green Cities – Green Logistics for Greener Citiesˮ (September 2018). The Conference provided an opportunity for sharing knowledge of and experience in the implementation of urban logistic solutions in the context of sustainable development, with special emphasis being placed on environmental issues and on reducing the negative environmental impact of urban cargo transport.
- The Grouping took part in drawing up opinions concerning the development of the core and comprehensive networks, as well as actively participated in meetings of the regional Working Group and the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor Forum supervised by the EU Coordinator of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor (participating in the 12th meeting of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor Forum, taking place in Brussels on 27 November 2018).
- Project activities involving participation in various projects financed from external resources, i.e., TENTacle, NSB Core and TalkNET, were continued. As part of the TENTacle project, the Action Plan for the development of cargo transport logistics along the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor was developed for EGTC purposes. The Action Plan is meant to encourage stakeholders to develop a smart and more eco-friendly logistics network between Scandinavia, Poland and other regions of Central Europe. It includes activities going beyond the TEN-T network connections, i.e., extending to the Baltic Sea (the Skania-Western Pomerania sea connection) and the Oder Waterway running along a section of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor.
- The Grouping joined the preparations of the REIF project. The project is aimed at improving the planning and coordination processes for modernising the existing, or developing new infrastructure and services in the field of rail transport, increasing political pressure on the development of regional rail infrastructure for the purposes of cargo transport, and interregional integration of cross-border rail networks, with the aim of facilitating the movement of goods outside the main corridors of the basic TEN-T network. The project is expected to deliver regional policy instruments and/or action plans for cargo transport clusters to improve infrastructure and services in the field of rail transport. The project implementation has started in 2019.
- In addition, in 2018 the Grouping joined the activities of the Baltic Cooperation Platform, entitled “Access to clean, efficient and multi-modal transport corridors in the Baltic Sea Region” (abbreviated as BSR Access), which is meant to effectively contribute to creating a close link between regional development and transport policies, and to set clear-cut priorities for the Baltic Sea Region. BSR Access is the first communication platform that combines the perspectives of the European coordinators of TEN-T projects, coordinators of the EU priority areas for transport, and coordinators for the spatial planning of horizontal SUERMB measures, and a wide group of transport stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region.
- The Grouping continues cooperation with the Association of Polish Regions of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor.
- The Grouping has also endorsed the implementation of the CEF 2018 investment project, which aims to connect and develop multi-modal logistic platforms. The project aims at eliminating the bottleneck at the “last mile” section of the way leading to the ferry terminal and Świnoujście by building a backup parking facility for trucks.
Challenges or issues
Challenges refer to the topics relevant for actions of the EGTC, which are co-modality, environment, innovation (smart specialisation), economic growth and regional cohesion.
Budget
€ 50,600.00
EU-funded projects and programmes in phase of imple-mentation in 2019
In 2019 EGTC started the implementation of the REIF (Regional infrastructure for railway freight transport – revitalised) project financed from the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme. Project budget: 2.215.341,50 EUR EGTC budget: 130.270,00 EUR
- TENTacle - Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme - € 3.5 million;
- NSB Core - Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme - € 3.5 million.
Staff (in FTE)
2 persons are employed indirectly.
