Key Benefits:
The President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
In light of articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution;
In view of Act No. 2005-250 of 18 March 2005 authorising the approval of the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic, of the one part, and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Government of the French Community, the Government of the Walloon Region and the Flemish Government, on the other hand, on cross-border cooperation between local authorities and local public bodies;
In light of the amended Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 concerning the Ratification and publication of international commitments entered into by France,
Clipping:
Agreement between the Government of the French Republic on the one hand, and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Government of the French Community, the Government of the Walloon Region and the Flemish Government, on the other hand, on cross-border cooperation between local authorities and local public bodies, done in Brussels On 16 September 2002, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall each be responsible for the execution of the This Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A C C O R D
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, ON THE ONE HAND, AND GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH COMMUNITY, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WALLOON REGION AND THE FLEMISH GOVERNMENT, ON THE OTHER HAND, ON CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION BETWEEN LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES PUBLIC PUBLICS
The Government of the French Republic,
Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
The Government of the French Community,
The Government of the Walloon Region,
and the Flemish Government,
The Parties,
Recognizing the mutual benefits of Cooperation between local authorities and local public bodies on both sides of the border,
Desiring to promote good neighbourly policy between the Parties and to lay the foundations for cross-border cooperation In-depth,
Desiring to facilitate and promote cooperation between the territorial communities of the Parties,
Conscious of the difference between states in the political and administrative organization of the communities Territorial,
Desiring to complete the legal framework offered By the European Outline Convention of 21 May 1980 on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities whose essential principles inspire this cooperation,
Decided to facilitate and promote this cooperation in Respect for domestic law and the international commitments of the Parties,
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of this Agreement is to clarify the legal framework for cross-border cooperation between local and local authorities As part of the legal order of the Parties, in their fields of competence and in respect of domestic law and international commitments.
Article 2
Scope
(1) The This Agreement shall apply to local and regional authorities and Local public organizations:
1. In the Kingdom of Belgium:
a) On the territory of the Flemish Region:
-to the provinces;
-to the municipalities;
-to the inter-communal cooperation structures;
-to the autonomous provincial and municipal authorities;
-to the centres Public social assistance;
-associations founded by a public social assistance centre;
-polders and waterings;
b) On the territory of the Walloon Region:
-to provinces;
-to municipalities;
-to intercommunales;
-to provincial and local self-governing authorities;
-to public welfare centres;
-to associations founded by a public social assistance centre;
c) Across the Belgian territory:
-to public inter-communal cooperation structures that exceed the territorial limits of the Regions.
2. In the French Republic, in the Champagne-Ardenne region, in the Lorraine region, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and in the region Picardie, to the municipalities, to the departments, and to their groups included in the territory of those regions, and to their public establishments in so far as local and regional authorities are involved in this cross-border
. (2) The Parties may agree by exchange of diplomatic notes Extend the scope of this Agreement to other local and regional authorities, groups of local and regional authorities, as well as to other legal persons Where their participation is authorised by domestic law and in so far as the participation of local and regional authorities in the various forms of cross-border cooperation is maintained.
(3) State representatives in French departments and regions and state authorities The implementation of this Agreement shall be followed by the Federal, the Communities and the Belgian Regions concerned. The representatives of the State in the French departments and regions may also study with the same authorities the questions of transfrontier co-operation which fall within the competence of the State in France.
(4) The following are considered: Or local public bodies within the meaning of this Agreement, the bodies referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
(5) In this Agreement, the expression " Cross-border cooperation " Means the cross-border cooperation of local authorities and local public bodies with the exception of cross-border cooperation between the Parties, which is not governed by this Agreement.
Article 3
Cooperation Conventions
(1) Local or local authorities may enter into cooperation agreements between themselves in the areas of common jurisdiction they hold under the Internal law applicable to them. The cooperation agreements shall be concluded in writing. A copy shall be drawn up in the language of each Party concerned, each of which shall be equally authentic.
(2) The purpose of the cooperation agreements shall be to enable the partners to coordinate their decisions, to achieve and manage together the Equipment or utilities of common local interest. Such cooperation agreements may provide for the establishment of cooperation bodies with or without legal personality through the domestic law of the Party concerned.
Article 4
Rules applicable to Conventions
(1) Each territorial authority or local public body which enters into a cooperation agreement must respect, prior to its undertaking, the procedures and controls resulting from the internal law which Is applicable. Similarly, the acts of each territorial community or local public body to implement the cooperation agreement shall be subject to the procedures and controls provided for in the domestic law applicable to it.
(2) A cooperation agreement shall specify the duration for which it is concluded. It contains a provision on the conditions to be fulfilled in order to put an end to cooperation.
(3) May not be subject to cooperation agreements or the powers that a local authority exercises as an agent of the State or, in Belgium, in As an agent of the Federal State, the Region or the Community, or the powers of regulation and the police.
(4) The cooperation agreement may not have the effect of altering the status, or the powers of the local authorities, or Local public bodies that are parties to it.
(5) The Convention Cooperation contains a provision which determines the arrangements for establishing the liability of each of the local authorities or local public bodies vis-a-vis third parties.
(6) The cooperation agreement defines the law Applicable to its obligations. The applicable law shall be that of one of the Parties to this Agreement. In the event of a dispute concerning compliance with these obligations, the competent court shall be that of the Party whose right has been chosen.
Article 5
Mandate, delegation and public service concession
(1) The cooperation agreement may in particular require that a territorial authority or a local public body carries out the tasks of another territorial authority or local public body, in the name and on the directives Of the latter and respecting the internal law of the person who has the power of Direction.
(2) Concessions or, in respect of the French Party, public service delegations to which a local authority or a local public body under a Party may proceed to the benefit of a community Territorial or a local public body governed by another Party or a cross-border cooperation body referred to in Articles 10 and 11 of this Agreement shall be subject to the provisions and procedures laid down in the domestic legislation of Each Party concerned.
Article 6
Procurement of public procurement contracts
(1) Where cooperation agreements provide for the award of public contracts, the procurement shall be subject to the law of the Party applicable to the territorial community or the Cooperation referred to in Articles 10 and 11 which bear the responsibility for such cooperation.
(2) If local authorities or local public bodies of the other Parties participate directly or indirectly in the financing of this procurement, The agreement refers to the obligations that are made to each Territorial community or local public body for such an operation, having regard to its nature and cost, in respect of procedures relating to advertising, competition and choice of undertakings.
(3) Les Local authorities or local public bodies shall take all appropriate measures to enable each of them to comply with its obligations under its domestic law without infringing the right which applies to these public contracts.
Article 7
Responsibility of the Parties
(1) Subject to the application of Article 17, the cooperation agreements shall be binding only on the territorial authorities or local public bodies that have signed it. The Parties shall not in any way be engaged by the consequences of contractual obligations contained in cooperation agreements concluded by local or local public bodies or by the implementation of such agreements. Cooperation agreements.
(2) If a cooperation agreement is declared void in one of the Parties concerned in accordance with its domestic law, the other Parties concerned shall be informed thereof without delay.
Article 8
Transborder cooperation agencies
(1) Cross-border cooperation agreements may provide for the creation of bodies without legal personality (Art. 9), the creation of bodies with legal personality or participation in such bodies (art. 10), or the creation of a local grouping of cross-border cooperation (Art. 11), in order to provide for the effective implementation of cross-border cooperation.
(2) Where a territorial community or local public body intends to set up or participate in a cross-border cooperation body Body outside the State to which it belongs, such creation or participation requires prior authorisation in accordance with the conditions of the internal law of the Party to which it belongs.
(3) The supervisory authority of the cooperation body Cross-border activities ensure that the interests of local authorities are respected And local public bodies which, participating in the audit, report to one or more other Parties to the Agreement. It shall communicate any information requested by the competent authorities for the control of these local authorities and local public bodies. It shall inform them of the provisions it intends to take and the results of its monitoring to the extent that this information may have an impact on the cooperation of local or local public bodies participating in the This cooperation. Unless their implementation suffers any delay, these provisions must be taken in consultation with the competent supervisory authorities of the other interested parties.
(4) The statutes of the cross-border cooperation body And its deliberations are written in the language of each of the interested parties.
Article 9
Bodies without legal personality
(1) Territorial or public authorities May, in accordance with Article 3, establish bodies Common without legal personality and budgetary autonomy, such as conferences, inter-communal working groups, study and reflection groups, coordinating committees to study issues of common interest, Proposals for cooperation, exchange information or encourage the adoption by the bodies concerned of measures necessary to implement the defined objectives.
(2) A body without a legal personality shall not adopt decisions Engaging its members or third parties.
(3) The Cooperation Agreement Which provides for the creation of bodies without legal personality shall contain provisions on:
(a) The areas to be covered by the activities of the organization;
(b) The establishment and working arrangements of the organization;
(c) The duration for which it is constituted.
(4) The body without a legal personality is subject to the Right defined by the cooperation agreement.
Article 10
Bodies with legal personality
(1) Local or local authorities may participate in Bodies with legal personality or creating such If the latter belong to a category of bodies entitled under the domestic law of the Party in which they have their headquarters to understand foreign territorial communities.
(2) The categories of local public bodies referred to in the Paragraph 1 above are as follows:
1. In the Kingdom of Belgium:
a) On the territory of the Flemish Region;
-inter-communal cooperation structures (Flemish Decree of 6 July 2001), associations founded by a public social assistance centre;
b) On the Territory of the Walloon Region:
-les intercommunales (Walloon decree of 5 December 1996), associations founded by a public social assistance centre;
(c) On the territory of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region:
-non-profit associations and foundations (Act of 27 June 1921), international associations (Act of 25 October 1919), intercommunals whose spring exceeds the territory of a Region (Act of 22 December 1986), the European Economic Interest Groups (EEIG).
2. In the French Republic:
Public interest groups of cross-border cooperation and public interest groups responsible for implementing urban social development policies, local mixed economy societies, including those already in existence Set up by French territorial authorities.
(3) This Agreement shall apply to cooperation bodies not referred to in paragraph 2 above, open to foreign territorial authorities by Belgian law or by law French after the entry into force of this Agreement. This provision shall take effect upon notification by the Contracting Party concerned, through diplomatic channels, of the modification of its domestic law.
Article 11
Local cross-border cooperation grouping
(1) A local grouping of cross-border cooperation can be created by local authorities and local public bodies in order to carry out missions and services of interest to each of them. This local grouping of cross-border cooperation shall be subject to the internal law applicable to public institutions of inter-municipal cooperation of the Party in which it has its seat.
(2) The local grouping of cross-border cooperation shall be one Legal person under public law. The legal personality shall be recognised from the date of entry into force of the establishment decision. It has the legal capacity and budgetary autonomy.
Article 12
Local grouping
statuses of cross-border cooperation
(1) Territorial or agency communities
2) The statutes of a local grouping of cross-border cooperation contain, in particular, provisions on:
1 ° The local authorities or local public bodies that compose it;
2 ° Its purpose, its tasks and its relations with the local authorities or local public bodies which make up it, in particular as regards the Responsibility for the actions taken on their behalf;
3 ° Its name, the location of its headquarters, the geographical area concerned;
4 ° The powers of its organs, its operation, the number of representatives of the members in the organs;
5 ° The procedure for calling members;
6 ° quorums;
7 ° Procedures and majorities required for the deliberations;
8 ° How it works, in particular as regards the management of personnel;
9 ° The criteria by which members must contribute to financial needs and Budgetary and accounting rules;
10 ° The conditions for amending the statutes, including membership and the withdrawal of members;
11 ° Its duration and the conditions of its dissolution subject to the following provisions;
12 ° Les Conditions of liquidation after dissolution.
(3) Articles of association Local cross-border cooperation provides for the conditions under which the amendments to the Staff Regulations are adopted. These shall be adopted by a majority which is not less than two thirds of the statutory number of representatives of local and regional authorities and local public bodies within the assembly of the group. The statutes may provide for additional provisions. In the case of a local grouping of cross-border cooperation involving local authorities or public bodies located in the territory of the Flemish Region as well as in the territory of the Walloon Region, this majority Cannot be less than three quarters.
Article 13
Organs
(1) The bodies of the local grouping of cross-border cooperation are the Assembly, the President and one or more Vice-Presidents. The Vice-Presidents shall be chosen from among the members of the local authorities and local public bodies belonging to each of the Parties concerned other than that of which the President is a national. Each local authority and local public body has at least one seat in the assembly, none of which can have more than half of the seats. The statutes of the local grouping of cross-border cooperation may, in accordance with the domestic law of each Party concerned, provide for additional bodies.
(2) The appointment and mandate of the representatives of the communities Territorial and local public bodies at the meeting of the local grouping of cross-border cooperation shall be governed by the internal law of the Party of which each territorial or local public body represented.
(3) The Assembly shall rule by its decisions the cases which fall within the scope of the grouping Local cross-border
(4) The President shall ensure the execution of the decisions of the Assembly and shall represent the local grouping of cross-border cooperation in legal matters. It may, under its own responsibility and supervision, delegate part of its functions to one or more Vice-Presidents.
Article 14
Financing
(1) Local Cooperation Grouping Is financed by the contributions of its members, which constitute compulsory expenditure for them. It may also be financed from income received in respect of the benefits it provides.
(2) It shall draw up an annual budget estimate voted by the Assembly and draw up a balance sheet and a results account certified by independent experts of the Local authorities or local public bodies which constitute it.
(3) In so far as the local grouping of cross-border cooperation is entitled to use the loan, each loan and its repayment terms Must be agreed to by all its members. In the event of difficulty or dissolution of the local grouping of cross-border cooperation, in the absence of specific provisions in its statutes, local or local authorities shall be engaged in proportion to their Previous participation. Local authorities or local public bodies that are members of the local grouping of cross-border cooperation remain responsible for their debts until they are extinguished.
Article 15
Dissolution
The bundle is dissolved in full right either at the expiration of the duration for which it was instituted, or at the end of the operation that it was intended to drive. It may also be dissolved by unanimous decision of its members, provided that the conditions of its liquidation provide for the guarantee of third party rights.
Article 16
Transitional provisions
(1) This Agreement also applies to conventions on cross-border cooperation between local or local public bodies that were concluded prior to its entry into force. These shall be adapted to the provisions of this Agreement to the maximum extent possible within five years of its entry into force.
(2) The powers and powers of the cooperation bodies shall not be infringed Existing intergovernmental transborder.
Article 17
Additional provision
The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the conventions of Article 3 to which the One or more Parties to this Agreement.
Article 18
Entry into force
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the last Party notifies the other Parties that the internal conditions necessary to The entry into force of the Agreement is fulfilled.
Article 19
Duration and Termination
(1) This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.
(2) Each Party to the Agreement may denounce it in Giving at least one year before the end of a calendar year Denunciation to other Parties. Denunciation by one of the Belgian Parties shall not affect the validity of the agreement for the other Belgian Parties.
(3) If this Agreement is denounced, the cooperation measures that have taken effect before its expiry and the provisions Which apply to forms of cooperation will not be affected.
Done at Brussels, on 16 September 2002, in two copies, each in the French and Dutch languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Government of the
Republic:
Jean-Pierre Raffarin,
Prime Minister
For the Government
of the Kingdom of Belgium:
Guy Verhofstadt,
Prime Minister
For the
Government of the French Community:
Hervé Hasquin,
President
of the Community French
de Belgique
Pour le Gouvernement
de la Région wallonne:
Jean-Claude
Van Cauwenberghe,
Ministre-Président
Pour le Gouvernement flamand:
Patrick Dewael,
Minister-President
Done at Paris, June 28, 2005.
Jacques Chirac
By the President of the Republic:
Prime Minister,
Dominique de Villepin
The Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Philippe Douste-Blazy
