Facilitating cross-border solutions

Key points

The EESC:

• supports the amended proposal for a Regulation presented by the European Commission (EC) on a procedure to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context as an effort to further strengthen the integration process in the context of the European Union’s internal market.
• welcomes the EC’s persistent effort to resubmit an amended proposal for a Regulation to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context by requiring the establishment of cross-border coordination points by the Member States, while allowing them to choose whether or not to implement the accompanying resolution tool or any other tool they might consider.
• considers that the previous relevant effort provided a good learning experience in identifying and correcting the shortcomings of the initial proposal, and draws on this experience in its opinion on the amended proposal for a Regulation.
• believes that the proposed procedure is in principle complementary to the existing support schemes for cross-border activities operating in the Union, and that it creates the conditions for developing a comprehensive framework to address cross-border legal and administrative obstacles.
• welcomes the intention to simplify procedures under the proposed procedure by making the setting up of cross-border coordination points as one-stop-shops a requirement in all Member States.
• considers the provision of the Cross-Border Facilitation Tool an important process. However, its optional use should not reduce the added value it brings to the procedure.
• believes that the creation of a public pan-European register of cross-border files would help in the overall recording of the relevant legal and administrative obstacles, and in the subsequent exchange of views and experiences between the competent authorities to ensure that there are prospects for the resolution of these obstacles. It will be helpful if the EC is considering to draw up an annual report on the obstacles and proposed solutions, based on the data in the register.
• endorses the reasoning set out in the amended proposal for a Regulation for a bottom-up approach to tackling cross-border obstacles, as this enhances citizens’ understanding of the importance of integrating the EU’s internal market.
• notes the need for the authorities of regions where cross-border activities take place to be involved and express the local political will, in order to mobilise national authorities to trigger the proposed procedure and make use of its potential.
• points out that in order to highlight the added value of the proposed procedure, it is necessary to create clear incentives for Member States to use it by providing detailed information on the impact of cross-border obstacles and the development benefits to be gained by the regions involved.
• Lastly, believes that the importance of setting up and operating the proposed procedure will emerge as a serious political choice at European Union level even more if financial support is foreseen for the national structures (cross-border coordination points).