Border Regions' instrument for development and growth (BRIDGEforEU)

The Council adopted its position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Border Regions’ instrument for development and growth (BRIDGEforEU).

The proposed regulation establishes a framework to facilitate identifying and resolving cross-border obstacles that hamper the establishment and functioning of any infrastructure necessary for public or private cross-border activities, or of any cross-border public service that is provided in a given cross-border region and that fosters economic, social and territorial cohesion in that cross-border region.

The framework provides for the possibility to initiate a procedure with regard to a cross-border obstacle in a Member State which decides to establish a cross-border coordination point in accordance with this Regulation.

Scope of application

The Regulation should apply to cross-border obstacles in land and maritime border regions of neighbouring Member States. Where a Member State has both land and maritime borders with other Member States and decides to establish one or more cross-border coordination points, that Member State should not be required to establish a cross-border coordination point for a maritime border shared with another Member State. Member States which only have maritime borders with other Member States should not be required to establish a cross-border coordination point.

The Council's position excludes third countries from the scope, but the regulation is without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to establish equivalent procedural frameworks in accordance with national law to identify and resolve cross-border legal and administrative obstacles in their cooperation with third countries.

Cross-border coordination points

The establishment of cross-border coordination points would be voluntary, and Member States would have the freedom to choose how to resolve cross-border obstacles, including whether to resolve them at all. The Council's position specifies the list of tasks of the cross-border coordination points, as well as possible transfers of cases between cross-border coordination points.

The obligations of Member States that do not establish cross-border contact points are limited to (i) providing information on a relevant authority that can be contacted and receive information from a cross-border coordination point of a neighbouring Member State handling a cross-border case, and (ii) providing information on voluntary follow-up, where applicable, only in relation to cross-border obstacles also handled by a cross-border coordination point of another Member State.

Cross-border files

The initiator will submit the cross-border file to the cross-border coordination point in one of the Member States in the territory of which the geographical area concerned by the alleged cross-border obstacle is located. Natural persons are deprived of the possibility of being initiators of cross-border dossiers. The Council's position specifies the applicable deadlines for responding to initiators.

The obligation to provide detailed information on each cross-border file is limited exclusively to Member States that establish cross-border coordination points. Therefore, the Council removes the requirement to set up national public registers of cross-border files in each Member State. Instead, a single register will be maintained at EU level, and will be fed with the data that the Member States have to send. A new annex clarifies the structured information to be provided.

Communication of information

The Council's position sets the frequency at which data and information must be transmitted to the Commission at once a year. The Annex sets out the reporting requirements to be met by Member States with and without cross-border coordination points.