STANDING COMMITTEE

25 May 2009

Draft Opinion of the Congress on Protocol n° 3 to the Madrid Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities

For examination and vote by the Members of the Standing Committee on 10 June 2009

Jean-Paul Heider (France, R, EPP/CD[1])

SUMMARY

The Protocol on which the Standing Committee has to express its opinion aims at facilitating the creation of Euroregional Co-operation Groupings. The Protocol will serve to support and boost the creation of Euroregional co-operation groupings within the “greater Europe”: the geographical scope of the Protocol encompasses in fact all of the Council of Europe’s member states. The Protocol provides the basic provisions governing the establishment of Euroregional groupings but remains linked to national legislations (the functioning of the groupings will remain under the law of the state in which the groupings establish their headquarters).

The Congress has actively contributed to the preparation of this protocol by taking part in several preparatory meetings and formulating its main observations.

The draft opinion of the Congress - submitted to the Standing Committe for approval -, expresses satisfaction with the final draft of the Protocol, supports the adoption of the draft Protocol and invites the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to adopt it.

Draft opinion CG(16)18OPINION



[1] L : Chamber of Local Authorities / R : Chamber of Regions
ILDG : Independent and Liberal Democrat Group of the Congress
EPP/CD : Group European People’s Party – Christian Democrats of the Congress
SOC : Socialist Group of the Congress
NR : Member not belonging to a Political Group of the Congress