The first pan-European round table on the European Territorial Cooperation Group (ETCG) was held in Brussels on 7 June. ETCG is the new EU regulatory instrument “to facilitate the implementation and effective management of cross-border, trans-national or inter-regional projects” within the Union. The meeting, organized by the Committee of the Regions, was aimed at “evaluating the potential of the provision and furnishing examples of projects that could be activated after the entry into force of ETCG”, planned for 1st August. Following the approval (optional) of ETCG by member states, local authorities of various levels will then have the faculty to form, through an international accord, a Group with its registered office in any territory of the EU countries whose job it will be to define the scale and responsibilities relating to the projects and the activities to be pursued in the field of local and regional development with the co-financing of Brussels.
