An instrument of strategic cooperation and multi-level governance
Definition
An EGTC is an association of entities from at least two states — among them at least one member state of the European Union and, since 2013, one third country. It was created by Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006, amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013; in Romania, Government Emergency Ordinance No 9/2015 applies, amending GEO No 127/2007.
Unlike a cooperation protocol, the grouping has legal personality of its own. It is governed by a convention concluded unanimously by its members and by statutes they adopt, and it acts in their name. In practice, a grouping lets its members cooperate directly, manage joint budgets and be direct beneficiaries of European funds. Some groupings even act as managing authorities for cooperation programmes.
Groupings are entered in a European register kept by the European Committee of the Regions. In Romania, authorisation and registration are handled by the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration.
The difference
Cooperation is not limited to entities of the same kind: a grouping may bring together national, regional and local authorities, public undertakings, ports, autonomous administrations or inter-community development associations — including in mixed configurations.
Funding
The objectives can be met from several sources: the grouping’s own budget (members’ contributions), allocations from European Union programmes — all of which list groupings among eligible applicants —, dedicated European Commission mechanisms such as the Connecting Europe Facility or the Eastern Partnership Investment Facility, and loans.
Across Europe
Most existing groupings work on “soft” themes — culture, tourism, exchange of good practice. But there are also groupings in strategic fields: the Rhine–Alpine rail corridor and CETC-Route 65 in transport, Hospital de la Cerdanya — the first cross-border hospital in the European Union, created through a French-Spanish EGTC —, EGTC Novum for joint emergency management on the Polish-Czech border, and AIR Tritia for air quality.
The proposal
In 2013 Iași County Council, through EURONEST, started work on setting up a grouping with members from Romania, Poland and Hungary; agreements were signed with the Polish side, but association with the Republic of Moldova or Ukraine was not yet possible. In 2023 EURONEST revived the proposal, this time with the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and, possibly, Bulgaria.
The area covered: the North-East Region of Romania, with the county councils of Bacău, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Suceava and Vaslui; the districts of the Republic of Moldova; the Ukrainian regions bordering Romania and the Republic of Moldova — Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia and, in time, Ivano-Frankivsk and Odesa; later, possibly, the Bulgarian border area.
The shared potential to be used: the Black Sea, the Prut, the Siret and the Danube, and rail, road and river connectivity. The geopolitical situation in the immediate neighbourhood makes this a strategic matter, and in the long run the area of cooperation can be extended towards Türkiye.
Strategic role
The proposed grouping becomes a stable institutional platform, able to strengthen territorial and economic integration between the European Union and the eastern neighbourhood, to support the reconstruction of Ukraine and the convergence of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova with European standards, to make use of the North-East Region’s potential as a gateway for European funds towards the east, and to connect the border regions to the European transport, digital and energy networks.
In practice, the grouping would work as a macro-regional hub between the Black Sea, the Danube and the solidarity corridors towards Ukraine; as an instrument of multi-level governance; as a joint mechanism for implementing European programmes; and as a single point of contact between the Union’s institutions and the partner states of the eastern neighbourhood.
Governance
Funding sources
| Category | Instruments |
|---|---|
| Territorial cooperation | Interreg NEXT Romania–Republic of Moldova, Romania–Ukraine, Romania–Bulgaria, Interreg Europe, Interact |
| EU thematic programmes | Connecting Europe Facility (transport, energie, digital), Horizon Europe, EU4Health, Digital Europe, LIFE |
| External instruments | NDICI – Global Europe, European Peace Facility, EPIC – Eastern Partnership Investment Facility, Ukraine Facility |
| Complementary sources | EIB and EBRD, TAIEX & Twinning, national co-financing, public-private partnerships |
The grouping would act as applicant and direct beneficiary, as a coordination platform for joint RO–MD–UA projects, as a technical-assistance hub for its members, and as a facilitator of synergies between European Union instruments, the EBRD, the EIB and bilateral funding.
Pilot projects
The pilot projects below are indicative proposals; the exact lines of action will be set by the members, in the convention and the statutes.
A shared digital platform for planning, monitoring and financing cross-border projects.
Impact: stronger institutional capacity and transparency of public investment.
An integrated network of medical centres, mobile units and distance-training platforms.
Impact: greater medical response capacity and interoperable emergency services.
Shared civil-protection and rapid-response infrastructure in the Prut–Dniester area.
Impact: greater resilience to floods, fires and major natural hazards.
An integrated network of sustainable logistics and port infrastructure.
Impact: integration of the regions into the TEN-T network and greater economic competitiveness.
A network of regional centres of competence in construction, energy, health and digital skills.
Impact: greater professional mobility and post-conflict reconstruction capacity.
Steps taken
18 October 2023 · Chamber of Deputies
The EURONEST Inter-Community Development Association opened, in the Romanian Parliament, the public debate on the need to establish a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation with members from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria.
The event was organised with the support of the Committee for Economic Policy, Reform and Privatisation and the Committee for European Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies, together with IDEP Moldova. It brought together members of parliament from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, representatives of local public authorities and guests from the fields of health, education and sport.
28 November 2023 · Palace of the Parliament
EURONEST took part in the debate on the future of cohesion policy, in a discussion about the role that European Commission instruments — European groupings of territorial cooperation, euroregions, integrated territorial investments and clusters — can play in the balanced development of regions.
The event brought together European and national decision-makers:
13 November 2025 · Iași
The proposal to establish the Romania – Republic of Moldova – Ukraine grouping was presented in Iași, at the meeting of the Siret–Prut–Nistru Euroregion, together with the governance structure, the funding sources, the five pilot projects and the local components for each of the six counties.
11 June 2026 · Chișinău
In its plenary sitting of 11 June 2026 the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted Law No 108/26.06.2026 on the participation of the Republic of Moldova in European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation and amending related legislation. This was the missing legal piece: until it was adopted, the Republic of Moldova could not be a member of any grouping.
Its adoption also follows the efforts made by EURONEST and Iași County Council back in 2014, and it opens the way to the actual establishment of the Romania – Republic of Moldova – Ukraine grouping.
Consultation
To establish the priority fields and the pilot projects of greatest interest, EURONEST launched a questionnaire addressed to public authorities and organisations in the three states. Twenty-seven organisations from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine replied. The questionnaire remains open.
Would you like to take part in the consultation?Fill in the questionnaire — it takes a few minutes and helps shape the grouping’s priority fields.
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