The European Cross-Border Platform
Table of content
- What is the European Cross-Border Platform?
- What does the new Platform mean for the EGTCs who are already members of the EGTC Platform?
- Call for hosting of the Launch event of the European Cross-Border Platform in November 2024
- Call for the 2024 EGTC Awards nominations
- Save the date
- Contacts
What is the European Cross-Border Platform?
Cross-border cooperation is one of the European Committee of the Regions’ key policy orientations, and it plays a significant role in European integration.
Since the Single Market was established in 1992, many new opportunities have arisen for the border regions, and these regions have grown economically, thanks in part to the Interreg programme, which was initiated three years earlier.
Nevertheless, many obstacles to cross-border life remain. Citizens and businesses in border regions continue to encounter difficulties in their daily lives, whether it be finding a job, accessing healthcare, everyday commuting or overcoming administrative problems.
To underline the needs of the border regions and their citizens, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has just launched the European Cross-Border Platform (ECBP), the successor of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Platform. This platform aims to gather all actors in cross-border cooperation, from border cities and regions to EGTCs and Euroregions.
The newly established Platform aims to create a new place for cross-border stakeholders to meet and discuss border communities’ unique circumstances and needs, allowing them to engage with the EU institutions through the European Committee of the Regions.
The Platform will advocate for new approaches and policy solutions for cross-border regions, contributing to their social and economic growth while building a common European cross-border future for border regions.
The Platform will organise several meetings throughout the year. It will be the place for cross-border stakeholders to signal the issues that arise in their regions and for which solutions could be found at the European Union level.
We encourage all interested cross-border and border entities to join the new Platform and contribute to the work of the CoR on this issue.
Who can join?
Border and cross-border cities and regions, European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation, Euroregions, Eurocities and Eurodistricts, cross-border working communities, associations and research institutes working on cross-border issues, and any other entity working on cross-border cooperation.
How to join?
You can complete the form here to participate in the platform’s work.
Participation is free of charge.
For more information, please get in touch with ECBP’s Secretariat at cross-border@cor.europa.eu
The Steering Committee
The Bureau of the European Committee of the Regions appointed the following persons as the members of the Steering Committee:
- Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Member of the CoR, as the Chair
- Pavel Branda, Vice Mayor of Radio, Chair of the CoR Interregional Group on Cross-Border Cooperation
- Martín Guillermo Ramírez, Secretary General of AEBR
- Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of CESCI
- Jean Peyrony, Secretary General of MOT
Slaven Klobučar, CoR, will serve as the Secretary of the Platform and the Steering Committee.
What does the new Platform mean for the EGTCs who are already members of the EGTC Platform?
The CoR continues its work with the EGTCs as it has and will continue to support the existing EGTCs and those in creation. EGTC meetings will continue to be organised yearly.
The work on EGTCs will be an integral part of the new Platform’s work, and consequently, all EGTCs are invited to participate in it. There is no need for EGTCs to subscribe to the new platform.
Launch event of the European Cross-Border Platform in November 2024
The Platform will organise annual meetings with local hosts in Europe’s border regions where the participants, stakeholders, and politicians can witness innovative projects and specific challenges.
To that end, the CoR launched a call for cities, regions, EGTCs, Euroregions, or other cross-border actors who would like to host the European Cross-Border Platform launch event in November this year. CESCI and AEBR submitted a proposal, which was approved. Therefore, the platform’s launch event will be held in Budapest (Hungary) on 14 November 2024.
CONTACTS
A small secretariat in the European Committee of the Region manages the Platform. You can contact them at cross-border@cor.europa.eu
For any questions about the EGTC register, you can reach them at egtc@cor.europa.eu