​

​

 

  

Open Days 2013

Workshop of the EGTC Platform

 

 

In line with the action 'The EGTC – beyond regional policy', more than 150 participants, including representatives of some of the 43 existing EGTC, met the European Commission and national authorities to explain their experiences and exploit the possibilities of the Single Market Act.

The EGTC are entities with own legal personality operating simultaneously in two or more Member States. They hire personnel from different nationalities, sometimes in offices that are located in two or more countries; they do public procurement, implement and manage infrastructures and provide services at cross-border level.

Speakers

Chair: Mr Herwig Van Staa (AT/EPP) President of the Parliament of Tirol and Coordinator of the EGTC Platform of the Committee of the Regions

Speakers:

• Mr Emmanuel Vallens, European Commission, Direction General of Single Market and services, policy coordinator on Single Market policy
• Mr José Antonio Ruiz de Casas, European Commission, Direction General of Regional and Urban Policy, policy officer at the Competence Centre Macro-regions and Territorial Cooperation
• Mr Martín Guillermo Ramírez, Secretary General of the Association of European Border Regions
• Ms Margarida Rodrigues, Director of the EGTC 'ZASNET'
• Mr Zoltan Bara, Director of the EGTC 'Pons Danubii'
• Mr José Luis Pascual Criado, Director of the EGTC 'Duero-Douro'
• Mr János Girán, Director of the EGTC 'Pannon'
  

Debate/Panel discussion

Mr Van Staa briefed the participants about the outcome of the revision of the EGTC Regulation: From now on, the convention of the EGTC will be the main document. It is important that the convention determines the applicable Law to actions such as public procurement and services provided by the groupings, overcoming contradictions between national legislations. Concerning the Single Market, "The EGTC open new horizons", said Mr Van Staa, but "[they] find difficulties: sometimes, even giving a mobile phone to the employees becomes tricky!". He concluded that "the EGTC can tell what is going well and what can be improved".

Mr Vallens presented the state of play of the Single Market Act, considering the link between the Single Market and the EGTC. The EGTC can decline locally the issues related to the Single Market, like the mobility of citizens (cross-border employment agencies), coordination of development policies, consumer protection, and above all the public procurement. The new Directive on procurement will allow the EGTC members to delegate to the EGTC.

Mr Ruiz de Casas explained that the convention of the EGTC can be an instrument to harmonize the legal framework in which the EGTC operate. In the future, the EGTC will be more important in terms of public procurement. He also underlined that the cross-border cooperation is to a certain extent exempted from the State Aid limitations. Finally, the EGTC can create and transfer precious know-how. He recalled the goal of creating growth and jobs

Mr Guillermo stated that "the EGTC is the big success of the EU regional policy", but mentioned several asymmetries and barriers, like the citizens of border regions. Recalling the CoR opinion on cross-border labour mobility, he highlighted the need for statistics, more mobility, enhancing EURES commuting, and differences in language, social security and salaries. The EGTC can implement cross-border tenders, employment, Services of General Interest, financial markets and services, providing sustainability to the projects and fighting against Single Market gaps.

Ms Rodrigues presented the action plan of the EGTC 'ZASNET', which intends to implement the Strategy Europe 2020 including the Single Market aspects. She explained that the groupings meet operational problems like opening a bank account of the EGTC in each of the countries involved, and that Spanish companies had difficulties to meet the requirements of Portuguese legislation in public procurement. She trusts that in the future the territory will be more integrated and cohesive.

Mr Pascual presented gave two Single Market Barriers that can become political problems: 151 working contracts pay to the Spanish social security, and 98 tenders pay their taxes in Spain, just because all the legal acts must take place under the Law of the country where the EGTC 'Duero-Douro' has its headquarters, just because the VAT number of the EGTC is Spanish. "Art. 1 of the EGTC Regulation does not apply", he said, "and we have to do our job and cannot spend our time in court". He also claimed for real and effective participation in the CBC programmes.

Mr Bára highlighted that the EGTC meet physical, administrative and financial barriers in the borders. He confirmed ideas mentioned previously, and added the case of the VAT gap between Hungary and Slovakia, and also the differences of criteria in cross-border cooperation programmes. The EGTC 'Pons Danubii' will work on cross-border cooperation actions, an Integrated Territorial Investment and cross-border services. The integration of funding will help in the future. 

Mr Girán focused on the economic objectives of the EGTC 'Pannon' in enhancing the economic integration and the development of the area: "If we provide the conditions for optimal background necessary for single market operation by utilizing the local advantages, the foreign and national investors and business organisations would rather select the hubs of Pannon EGTC as their business premises or as partners".


Floor Debate

Mr Xoan Vázquez explained that the Euroregion Eixo Atlántico, that he represents, cannot become an EGTC because if this happen the assets of the Euroregion would revert to the Portuguese Republic, which is another obstacle to the normal evolution of cross-border public partnerships.

Mr Juan José Lirón, director of the EGTC Galicia-Norte de Portugal, insisted on the need of fiscal harmonisation (VAT gaps of the two countries), and pointed out the problem of the lack of harmonisation between the cross-border cooperation programmes: The same CBC projects are audited by 2 Managing Authorities and later by the Commission with diverging criteria, which hinders the possibility of operating under legal certainty.


Conclusions

The representative of DG Regio agreed that the need for more coordination between managing authorities in terms of audit and control.

The representative of DG Market insisted in the clarity of the rules of the Single Market, inviting the EGTC to inform the Commission about the difficulties that they meet and about the possible infringements of the Member States, in particular in cases of discrimination.

The AEBR is ready to back the EGTC in the claims or problems that they may have, because only by mobilising the legal resources the EU Law can evolve.

The chair concluded that the EGTC must be considered as an entity with full legal personality and should be considered as such at all the effects, in particular in CBC programmes, and should be fully entrusted by the local and regional authorities. The chair stated that the EGTC Platform would like to be partners of the European Commission in overcoming the barriers to the Single Market.