Member States, national, regional and local authorities, public undertakings and undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest, as well as associations of such entities from at least two Member States of the European Union and, under certain conditions, similar territorial authorities, entities or undertakings from third countries may be members of a European grouping of territorial cooperation and entrust tasks to that EGTC. These tasks are intended, in particular, to facilitate and promote territorial cooperation in order to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union and to overcome obstacles in the internal market. Excluded from the delegation of tasks are the exercise of sovereign powers or obligations to safeguard the general interests of the state or other public bodies, such as police and regulatory powers or powers and obligations in the fields of justice and foreign policy.
The formation of an EGTC requires the agreement of the convention and the statutes by all the participants. The convention must regulate, among other things:
- Name and seat of the EGTC,
- EGTC members,
- the extent of the territory in which the EGTC may carry out its tasks,
- objective and tasks of the EGTC,
- organs of the EGTC and their competences,
- applicable legal regulations,
- liability regulations.
The statutes must regulate, among other things:
- Functioning of the organs and their competences,
- number of representatives of the members in the organs,
- decision-making procedures,
- working language(s),
- financial contributions of the members,
- accounting and budgetary rules.