Serbia’s participation in European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) and Euroregional Cooperation Grouping (ECG) (Legal Accessibility: Sescond milestone)

CESCI’s office in the Balkans (Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives Balkans) developed this study in 2017, in the framework of one of the sub-projects of the Legal accessibility project’s second milestone. The policy and governance themed document is part of the sub-project, whose objectives include creating an exploratory study about the Serbian legislation ratifying the Madrid Outline Convention, among other things. During the development process, the experts of the CESCI Balkans consulted with the Serbian government agencies, the Ministry of Local Governments and State Management and the Ministry of European Integration.

In the study, the opportunities provided by the Madrid Outline Convention for Serbia, the territorial policy of the European Union, the cross-border structures in the Balkans are discussed, and the authors are making proposals and offering solutions for the application of EGTCs and ECGs. The study discusses the regional policy of the European Union, paying special attention to the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation and the cross-border cooperation programmes. The study dedicates a separate chapter to the cross-border structures and cooperation in the Balkans and it maps their most important activities and projects.

Finally, the study makes a proposal for establishing ECGs with Serbian participation and details founding process.