Cross-border co-operation

Danuta Hübner, the European commissioner for regional policy, and Michel Delebarre, the president of the Committee of the Regions, have strongly criticised member states for failing to set up a new funding instrument for cross-border co-operation.

As part of efforts to step up cross-border co-operation, member states were supposed to take the necessary administrative steps to create European Groupings of Territorial Co-operation (EGTCs). These new bodies would enable authorities in different member states to work together on cross-border projects such as hospitals and research centres.

The new bodies were meant to be able to start operating from 1 August this year but member states have failed to carry out the necessary legal and administrative procedures. "This is definitely not good news," Hübner said.

A number of potential projects have been identified which would take advantage of the new status, including a hospi-tal in Limburg on the Dutch-German border and another on the French-Spanish border.

Hübner said that setting up EGTCs represented a "radical step forward in the implementation possibilities for cross-border co-operation".

• More information on EGTCs at: www.cor. europa.eu/egtc.htm

Danuta Hübner, the European commissioner for regional policy, and Michel Delebarre, the president of the Committee of the Regions, have strongly criticised member states for failing to set up a new funding instrument for cross-border co-operation.