Institutional Cooperation for Cross‑Border Tourism Packages

Advised entity: Municipality of Ruse

The Municipality of Ruse in Bulgaria and Giurgiu in Romania seek to jointly develop cross‑border tourist packages, but fragmented national administrative and legal frameworks prevent them from planning, approving and managing integrated tourism products together. Although informal cooperation exists, there are no harmonised procedures allowing the two municipalities to share responsibilities, pool resources or coordinate branding and promotion. As a result, cross‑border cultural routes and combined tourism offers cannot be developed in a coherent way, limiting the region’s potential as a unified destination. Addressing this administrative gap would enable the two municipalities to establish predictable and legally secure mechanisms for developing cross‑border tourism packages in the Ruse–Giurgiu area.

Ruse – Giurgiu Transport Connectivity via a Regular Bus Line

Advised entity: Municipality of Ruse

Between the cities of Ruse (Bulgaria) and Giurgiu (Romania), the Danube River forms the border between the two countries, and the two cities are connected by the Danube Bridge. Both operate functioning local public transport systems but wish to develop a connecting electric bus line to improve daily mobility and accessibility while supporting EU environmental goals. However, establishing this cross-border transport service is currently not possible due to unclear and uncoordinated administrative and legal procedures, including those related to the route authorisation, operator licensing, ticketing systems and fare-setting mechanisms. Overcoming these obstacles would represent a decisive step towards genuine functional cross-border integration, moving beyond symbolic partnership towards sustained joint governance of a public service.

Environmental Risks, Health Impacts and Coordinated Responses

Advised entity: Municipality of Ruse

Air emissions from the planned medical waste incinerator in Giurgiu, seasonal burning of agricultural residues, and chronic noise pollution on the Romanian bank of the Danube generate transboundary environmental impacts, affecting populations on both sides of the Romanian-Bulgarian border. Yet all permitting, assessment, monitoring and enforcement procedures for these activities are governed solely by Romanian administrative and legal frameworks, leaving Bulgarian authorities without formal rights to early notification, consultation, real‑time information, joint monitoring or cross‑border administrative action. This structural legal and administrative gap limits coordinated prevention, assessment and response to shared environmental and public health risks. Addressing these issues would allow Bulgarian and Romanian authorities to establish structured cross‑border procedures tailored to the specific environmental challenges of the Ruse–Giurgiu area.

Cross-Border management of river Strymonas’ water flow

Advised entity: Municipality of Iraklia

Local authorities in Greece and Bulgaria lack operational procedures and coordination mechanisms to jointly manage the transboundary flow of the Strymonas River. Although the river basin is shared, cooperation remains fragmented, with no structured framework for prevention, monitoring, or early coordination at local level. As a result, downstream municipalities face challenges, such as sediment transport, waste accumulation, and environmental pressures on Lake Kerkini, while lacking effective channels and tools to engage with their upstream counterparts.

Overcoming this governance gap would enable predictable and institutionalised cooperation between local authorities, strengthening cross‑border management of shared water resources.

Transboundary water resource management between Romania and Hungary Advised entity: Kötegyán Local Municipality

Coordinated water resource management in the Bihor–Kis‑Sárrét catchment shared by Hungary and Romania is hindered by differences in national legislations and by an outdated bilateral framework. This framework no longer reflects current climatic and hydrological realities and limits adaptive and coordinated cross‑border action at the local level, despite the growing impacts of droughts and water scarcity on communities on both sides of the border. Addressing this governance gap would create the conditions for more balanced cross‑border water management and enable better use of transboundary watercourses, particularly during dry periods.

Belles Border-Joint Civil Protection

Advised entity: Municipality of Sintiki

Greek and Bulgarian local and regional authorities or fire units cannot cooperate directly in wildfire prevention, preparedness, and response, without prior central-level authorization.  The absence of a legally recognized civil protection cooperation framework at the local level  creates significant risks for both nature and human safety. Addressing this gap would transform the current informal exchanges into structured, institutionalised, and legally supported cooperation, thereby strengthening joint action and improving long-term risk-reduction. 

Cross-border shuttle Franco-Italian Briançon-Oulx

Advised entity: Community of communes of Briançonnais

Since 2006, a bus connection has linked the French municipality of Briançon with the Italian municipality of Oulx. However, this service was suspended in 2021 and reinstated partially under restrictive conditions in April 2025.The current bus service requires reservations 48 hours in advance and includes the presence of a security guard on board.

Removing the current obstacles would make it possible to restore a regular, secure and attractive cross-border transport service, thus strengthening cooperation between the territories of Briançonnais and Val de Suse.

Breaking Barriers for Local Farmers’ Markets at the Slovenian-Hungarian border

Advised entity: Pannon EGTC

Agriculture is an important factor in employment and value production in the Slovenian-Hungarian border region. However, farmers and primary producers in border regions, who should be able to access nearby local markets in both countries, are unable to do so easily due to a series of regulatory and informational barriers, for instance regarding food safety, taxation, labelling, and sales permissions. The result is that local markets remain fragmented, farmers miss out on potential income, and consumers have less access to diverse local products.

Overcoming these obstacles is essential to unlock the economic potential of the Slovenian-Hungarian border region and enhance cross-border cooperation.

Grenzbach: Managing Water for a Safe Border Area

Advised entity: Civil Protection Agency of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (Italy)/ Fachbereich Wildbachverbauung - Agentur für Bevölkerungsschutz der Autonome Provinz Bozen (I)

The Grenzbach stream marks the border between the municipalities of San Candido/Innichen (Italy) and Sillian (Austria) and poses a flood risk to both sides. To address this danger hydraulic-forestry arrangements are need. The technical issues involved in these works have been resolved. However, administrative and legal aspects remain open, particularly regarding differences in construction rules and procedures to obtain permits..

Overcoming these administrative and legal questions is crucial for protecting the population and the environment, as well as for strengthening the relationship between Italy and Austria to prevent and mitigate flood risks.

Serbian members in an EGTC

Advised entity: Banat-Triplex Confinium EGTC

Despite Serbia's EU accession efforts in aligning national laws with the EU acquis, the country has not adopted the third Protocol of the Madrid Outline Convention allowing local and regional authorities to join EGTCs. As a result, eight Serbian municipalities only have an observer status and cannot be full members of the EGTC Banat Triplex Confinium.

By establishing a Serbian EGTC Regulation, Serbian local and regional authorities would gain co-leadership in cross-border instances and projects, boosting regional socio-economic development and EU values integration.