EFFICIENT COOPERATION
THE KVARKEN COUNCIL
AND THE EGTC
From an association to a stable legal entity. The Kvarken Council has become the first fully Nordic EGTC area.
From an association to a stable legal entity
The Kvarken Council became the first fully Nordic EGTC area 31st of December 2020. An EGTC can be described as a grouping within the EU, with the purpose of promoting cross-border cooperation. For the Kvarken Council, this brings about new opportunities to develop and strengthen the region with the help of cross-border cooperation projects.
EGTS briefly
- EGTC stands for European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
- It is the EU’s own legal instrument for cross-border collaboration
- These are currently circa 70 established EGTC’s in Europe, with several underway
EGTC in different languages
- English: The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)
- Swedish: Europeisk gruppering för territoriellt samarbete (EGTS)
- Finnish: Eurooppalainen alueellisen yhteistyön yhtymä (EAYY)
Europe’s largest EGTC
The Kvarken Council EGTC was registered in 2020 after approval from the Government Offices of Sweden and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. The founding meeting was held in October 2020, and the Kvarken Council EGTC started its operations at the turn of the year 2020–2021. The Kvarken Council EGTC is Europe’s largest EGTC from a geographical perspective and likely also due to its number of members – An interesting collaboration partner from all points of view!
The Kvarken region will benefit greatly from the EGTC
For the Kvarken Council and the region’s members, the change from an association to an EGTC produces stronger tools for creating more efficient and advantageous cooperation as well as developing and promoting the region’s needs on a larger arena.
Click to see a list of The Kvarken Council’s current EGTS members:
Why an EGTC Instead of an Association?
- A more powerful body that can push shared and regionally important issues at national and EU levels
- Identification – facilitates actions at EU level
- Visibility! First Nordic cross-border committee to make the change
- Firmer structure – from an association to a stable legal personality – stronger commitment from partners
- As a member of the EGTC platform – strengthens the opportunities for interest-representation in Europe
- Facilitates the realization and management of cross-border development projects
