News
Launching of the Working Group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles
September 2016Following the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU (2nd half of 2015) and its proposal to create a new legal tool for cross-border cooperation, a Working Group on innovative solutions to cross-border obstacles was established by Luxembourg and France. The first meeting of the Working Group was held in Vienna on July 5th 2016.
It was presented under the Dutch Presidency (1st half of 2016) during the meetings of Directors-General in charge of Territorial Cohesion and of Urban Matters on May 11th and 12th 2016.
Conceived as an intergovernmental platform in a structured dialogue with the EU institutions, the Working Group will be dealing with obstacles to cross-border cooperation and working on the added value, feasibility and design of the legal tool presented under the Luxembourg Presidency.
The result should be the starting point for a legislative process at the EU level at the end of 2017.
Objectives of the Group:
- Establish a toolbox of cross-border solutions
- Identify concrete examples on cross-border obstacles and their solutions to show the added value of the proposed tool
- Further develop the proposed tool, and clarify its legal feasibility
Members of the Group:
- National authorities willing to take part
- The Committee of the Regions
- The Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT), which holds the Technical Secretariat
- The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR)
- The Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI)
The Group works in consultation with the European Commission (Cross-border review), the European Investment Bank, the European Parliament and Intergovernmental or transnational organisations like the Nordic Council.
Consult the online page of the intergovernmental group and the report of the first meeting: click here.
The next meeting will be held on 28 September in Brussels.
