Cross border cooperation at the EU
external borders
Seminar on Territorial
Co-operation
Egidio Canciani
European Commission
Directorate General for External
Relations
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
• Proposal represents a radical
improvement over the current
situation;
• For the first time a single
instrument applies to the two
sides of EU external borders;
• Design largely completed …
some aspects need further work
…together.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Main questions raised by the
Member States
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Coherence in the approach to Cross
Border co-operation under SF/ENPI/IPA;
Geographical eligibility;
The “Sea basin” approach under the ENPI;
Management and control systems for the
implementation of programmes;
Future consultations with Member States.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
A few basics
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CBC at the EU external borders will be covered,
from 2007 by two instruments;
These instruments are doing more then CBC but
have a separate CBC component;
ENPI will fund CBC at the EU external border with
ENP countries and Russia;
IPA will fund CBC at the EU external border with
candidate and pre-candidate countries;
Both instruments will cover eligible border
regions of MS and partner countries adjacent to
the relevant borders;
They will apply a set of rules specific to CBC.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
The conceptual toolkit
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The Pre-Accession Policy: preparing the
candidate countries to become EU Members;
 The European Neighbourhood Policy: projecting
EU system of values through the extension of
internal policies and tools;
 Neighbourhood Programmes 2004-2006: blending
the CBC experience of Interreg and external
relations instruments;
 The Interreg approach: developing a full fledged
partnership between adjacent border regions of
different countries.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Two budget sources: one set
of rules
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Funds for CBC programmes under ENPI and IPA
will be drawn from two headings of Financial
perspective: this reflects the dual nature of the
instruments (external relation-cohesion);
 External relations funds will be at least equivalent
to the ERDF one (a minimum of 2 times 12% of
the ERDF allocation under objective 3);
 The concept of "common benefit" is introduced:
no obligation to spend external funds outside EU
and ERDF funds inside EU.
 For the participating countries: one budget table
in the programming documents, no obligation to
report where the funds are spent.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Geographical eligibility:
Common elements to IPA and ENPI
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Land borders and Maritime borders/Sea
crossings: NUTS III level Regions of
Member Sates and partner countries;
 Maritime borders/Sea crossings
programmes where conditions (e.g. short
distance) allow border regions to
elaborate a common, territorially based,
development strategy;
 Possibility for adjoining regions to
participate in co-operation.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
ENPI “Sea basin” co-operation
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Eligibility: NUTS II level coastal Regions along
common sea basins;
Reflects the importance of maritime borders under the
ENP;
Co-operation framework “broadens” co-operation
possibilities: Multi-lateral, NUTS II, no restrictions of
objectives;
Allows bilateral co-operation between cities or coastal
regions;
Builds on the “trans-national” maritime
neighbourhood programmes (MEDOC, Archimed,
BSR);
A link to be established with Trans-national cooperation.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Joint programming
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Participating countries define together
priorities for co-operation, respecting the
principles of partnership, co-financing,
complementarity;
 Joint programme: document agreed by the
parties, multi-annual, includes
priorities/measures, describes in details
implementation modalities;
 Commission adopts the document after
negotiations with participating countries.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Joint management
COM proposals provides for:
 One structure based on a "joint managing
authority" normally” in MS;
 One budget management mode: shared
management – maximise MS flexibility –
minimise COM involvement;
 MS will have to assume responsibility visà-vis the Commission for the entirety of
the programme.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
The management and control
system
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ERDF model: Joint managing authority, joint
certifying authority, joint audit authority, JTS –
functions as set in the SF and ERDF regulation;
Compliance with community rules mainly on
environment, public procurement, state aids and
equal opportunities;
Certification of expenditures: ERDF model –
validation by approved auditors before being
submitted to the certifying authority;
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Public Procurement
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Aim: a set of common rules;
Proposal: rules to be applied should be those of
the managing authority;
Advantages: coherence with SF approach,
automatic compliance with public procurement
directives;
Difficulties: partner countries contractors will
have problems related to the application of a third
country legislation, difficult to apply to
multilateral programmes;
Possible options: common set of rules
established ad hoc for the programme, separate
procurement.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
Agreements
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Framework agreements: already existing,
necessary to bind third countries to the essential
provisions of the regulations;
Financing agreements: necessary to make the
joint programmes binding in partner countries establish final responsibility of the State in case
of irregularities;
Bilateral agreements: covering the operational
arrangements necessary for the Member State in
order to assume financial responsibility vis à vis
the Commission.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
The implementing rules
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Implementing rules = Commission implementing
regulation - CBC only;
Includes all the details necessary to design and
implement the programmes striving for maximum
coherence between internal and external borders;
COM intends to continue technical discussions
with MS technical experts: paper on management
and control system to be circulated soon, follow
up technical meeting in April/May.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005
The future
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Main ENPI/IPA regulations: Commission
aims at an approval of ENPI/IPA by 3rd
quarter 2005;
 Implementing regulation: presentation to
the Committee soon after;
 Programming: start in January 2006.
 Programmes ready for implementation:
January 2007.
Seminar on European Territorial Co-operation – Brussels - 21 February 2005