To be united for stronger advocacy: The Iberian EGTCs met 3rd time in Vigo
EGTCs + Other news | 02 July 2025
To be united for stronger advocacy: The Iberian EGTCs met 3rd time in Vigo
EGTCs + Other news | 02 July 2025
On 3 and 4 June, the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation of the Iberian Peninsula met for the third time in Vigo, Spain, to exchange experiences and ideas and to unite their efforts for more effective advocacy of the EGTCs at the European Union level. At the workshop organised by the Working Community of Galicia and Norte Portugal also Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of CESCI, participated in the panel discussing the future of the European Cohesion Policy.
The wide audience representing 12 groupings from the Portuguese-Spanish and the Spanish-French borders and regional and national authorities was welcomed by Diego Calvo, Counsellor of the President of the Regional Government of Galicia and António Cunha, President of the Norte Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-NORTE).
The first panel focused on the future of the European Cohesion Policy, moderated by Jesús Gamallo, Director General for External Relations and the European Union of the Regional Government of Galicia. Ricardo Ferreira, an expert of the European Commission, summarised the toolkit of the EU facilitating cross-border integration, with a special emphasis on the recently adopted BRIDGEforEU Regulation, which is designed to eliminate cross-border legal and administrative obstacles.
Gyula Ocskay (CESCI) briefly summarised the evolution of the Cohesion Policy and warned about the challenges it is facing today in an age of multiple crises. As he underlined, EGTCs can be interpreted as a valid answer to these challenges by demonstrating the willingness of cooperation, openness, mutual trust, and a declaration for open borders, long-term cross-border mobility and integration. He urged the establishment of more groupings and a stronger advocacy at the national and EU levels.
Klaus Boele, desk officer of the Committee of the Regions, presented online the European Cross-Border Platform as an adequate advocacy instrument of the EGTCs. He also mentioned the reports and conclusions that the CoR adopted during the last two years in favour of cross-border integration.
The following panel discussions addressed territorial cooperation policies, where the participants commemorated the 40th anniversary of signing the EU Accession Agreement of Portugal and Spain, and highlighted the significance of harmonising the development programmes with the citizens’ needs. Besides, the speakers presented cross-border and transnational Interreg programmes providing financial support for the activities of the Iberian EGTCs, e.g. the POCTEFA programme which subsidises the interventions in five cross-border functional areas; and the special employment conditions in border areas, including the announcement of an initiative envisaging a special workers’ status of the EGTCs’ employees.
The agenda of the second day started with an open discussion related to a joint declaration of 12 EGTCs of 12. The declaration claims an EGTC Platform independent from the European Cross-Border Platform, which ensures the representation of the groupings at the EU institutions, the permanent exchange of information and capacities for project development. Further points of the declaration discuss the need to be acknowledged by other programmes than Interreg and in bilateral intergovernmental treaties; the access to decentralised funding schemes; the development of cross-border functional areas; the creation of the network of national Cross-Border Coordination Points envisaged by the BRIDGEforEU Regulation; and the reinforcement of the EGTCs’ connection to the citizens.
During the panel discussion moderated by Nuño Almeida (Deputy Director of EGTC Galicia-Norte Portugal) and Arola Uldangarin (EGTC Euskadi – Nouvelle-Aquitaine – Navarre), the participants supported the points of the Declaration, especially its ambition to create a new EGTC Platform. The representatives of the groupings present were not against the new ECBP, but they felt that the groupings had lost their significance within the new structure, where diverse organisations with diverse needs would be united. The contributors shared the view that the EGTCs represent the area where they are operating: they are the voice of the people, they are the closest to the citizens. Accordingly, their mission goes beyond the mere implementation of cross-border projects: they should be treated as the representatives of the particular cross-border region. It includes their today-missing acknowledgement of the national authorities of both relevant states. Today, the EGTCs cannot take part in the calls published in a country different from their seat. Equally, as it was discussed in detail within the panel, they need a special worker’s status to be applied for their employees. Finally, they claimed a permanent representation in Brussels, directly contacting the EU institutions and providing the channels for exchanges between the EGTCs.
The Declaration was presented at the end of the meeting with the consent of the participating groupings. The meeting ended with a study tour to Valença and Tui, and the participants walked through the combined bridge crossing the Spanish-Portuguese border over the Rio Minho.
