Hungarian overview

Let me warmly greet the readers of this volume on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the EU Regulation on a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC).

In my view, the EGTC instrument mirrors perfectly those principles by which Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi and Jean Monnet initiated the creation of the European Community and of their vision for its future. Today, 77 EGTCs are operating in the EU of which almost one-third (24) have Hungarian members and 21 EGTCs are based in our country. Although high quantity in itself is not a measure of high quality performance, this fact does underline Hungary’s pioneering role in this field.

The reader may therefore feel it justified that at the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the EGTC Regulation, the Hungary-based Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI) publishes this volume with financial support from the Ministry of Justice.