Mura Region EGTC was set up on 28 May 2015, and its membership has grown since. Currently, the grouping includes all municipalities on both banks of the Mura river along the Hungarian-Croatian border.
The grouping was formed after Croatia's accession to the EU. One major aim was to increase cooperation between members of the Hungarian-Croatian twin-city network of the multi-ethnic border region. The EGTC does excellent work in the region and despite its young age has numerous approved projects.
The grouping aims to develop the economic partnerships based on educational, cultural and NGO relations that have been built up over the past decades.
The objective of Mura Region EGTC is to reduce disparities within the border region, building on those relations, and to help strengthen economic, social and regional cohesion, with a particular focus on infrastructure projects. To address cross-border employment issues and emigration of the young workforce, the EGTC has been actively involved in planning of the bridge between Murakeresztúr and Kotoriba (Mura Bridge) and has submitted an application under the Interreg HUHR Cooperation Programme.
Additional aims of Mura Region EGTC are: improving business cooperation; supporting cross-border trade and business network solutions; improving legal accessibility; promoting local goods across the border; supporting local farmers; promoting the Mura 'brand'; and joint water tourism projects on the Mura River (Two Rivers, One Goal project), as well as conservation of the border river's diversity (Natura 2000 site).
