The European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation is a legal personality based on the European Law, which brings together entities (local government, regional authority, or the state) of two Member States or third countries into a joint entity.
By institutionalizing cross-border cooperation, members can more easily implement their shared goals and development ideas on both sides of the border. The EGTC, as a legal form, also allows for more efficient access to EU and other funding.
About the PONTIBUS EGTC
The PONTIBUS European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Limited Liability was established in 2015 by the Pest County Municipality and the Nitra District Municipality.
The purpose of establishing the Cooperation is to develop cross-border social, economic, touristic, cultural, and interinstitutional relations, thus contributing to the coordinated development of the region. The Cooperation provides an institutionalized framework for realizing the shared goals not only for the entities of the border region but also for the two county-level local governments forming the Cooperation.
The management of PONTIBUS EGTC and operational staff also strives for a continuous, regular dialogue with the region's local governments, non-governmental organizations, and enterprises. The sustainable and permanent development of the region can only be successful if it is based on a high level of cooperation between local entities. The work started in recent years has laid the foundations and principle possibilities of the cooperation, as many joint projects are being implemented, which we have achieved together in partnership.
It is important to continue the cooperation by coordinating the local and county development concepts. With further joint projects, we can contribute to the region's development.
Our Cooperation takes the initiative to establish, coordinate or otherwise facilitate any cooperation that brings us closer to achieving common goals. Several studies have identified, in line with the standpoint of most local entities, that sustainable and quality tourism could be one of the take-off points for the border region. However, the necessary services and infrastructure conditions are rare in the area. Lots of work and hard work, but first of all, reasoned, planned, and coordinated developments are necessary to make the goals a reality.
Our Cooperation has implemented several small-scale tourism projects in the previous periods. We installed sanitary containers to serve water and cycling tourism; at 3 locations, we provided mooring facilities with a pier installed for rowing fans. However, these minor developments are minimal steps for creating a future, coordinated, quality, and sustainable touristic supply, which, as a result of regional cooperation, we hope to start as soon as possible, counting that adequate resources will be available in 2021–2027 INTERREG VA Slovakia-Hungary Cooperation Program.
At the same time, we must not forget that the development of basic public services is also a significant challenge in many parts of the region. In the course of this work, we must pay attention to ensuring that the region's capacities are linked to the take-off points. For example, the ageing society and the growing number of elderly people in the region induce more and more public service needs and create opportunities for creating a “silver economy” and active ageing services. In the previous periods, our Cooperation coordinated a still ongoing action plan, and the results of which are bringing us closer to achieving these goals. We have won the RE-START action plan with several regional partners—local governments, non-governmental organizations, enterprises—from the INTERREG V-A Slovakia-Hungary Cooperation Program. The action plan, which aims to develop social infrastructure and active ageing services, will be implemented between 2019 and 2023.
