Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union institutions in Brussels announced that the Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on a new instrument for border regions for development and growth in the European Union - BRIDGEforEU.
According to a statement distributed in the capital of the united Europe, a copy of which we received, the regulation on the instrument seeks to support the development of border regions by facilitating solutions to their challenges, such as the development of infrastructure and the management of public services across borders.
According to the provisional agreement, the new legal framework will complement existing capabilities and cover the land border regions of neighboring member states, as well as maritime borders.
Member states will be free to decide whether to establish cross-border coordination points responsible for dealing with cross-border files and how to resolve cross-border obstacles. Member states that do not wish to establish cross-border coordination points will have limited reporting obligations. Island member states will be exempt from these requirements.
Although the regulation will not apply to border regions with third countries, it opens the door for member states to establish equivalent procedural frameworks under national law to address cross-border issues in their cooperation with third countries.
The participating lawmakers also agreed that only public or private legal entities will be able to initiate cross-border filings, while natural persons will not be able to do so.

The interim agreement will now need to be fully ratified by both institutions, and will undergo a legal and linguistic review before it is formally adopted.

EU member state ambassadors will be invited to confirm the agreement at their meeting on 20 December.