AGREEMENT on transfrontier cooperation between territorial communities and local public bodies (A-CoTr) - Purpose (A-COTR)

1. The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate and promote cross-border cooperation between French, German, Luxembourgish, and Swiss local authorities and public bodies, within their areas of competence and in compliance with domestic law and the international commitments of the Parties.

1. This Agreement shall apply to the following local authorities and local public bodies

1. In the Federal Republic of Germany

a. In the Land of Baden-Württemberg, to municipalities and "Landkreise",

b. In the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate, to municipalities, "Verbandsgemeinden", "Landkreise", and the "Bezirksverband Pfalz",

c. In Saarland, to municipalities, "Landkreise" and the "Stadtverband Saarbrücken",

d. as well as to their associations and legally autonomous public establishments.

2. In the French Republic, to the Alsace region and the Lorraine region, to municipalities, departments, and their associations located within the territory of the said regions, as well as to their public establishments insofar as local authorities participate in this cross-border cooperation.

3. In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to municipalities, municipal syndicates (syndicats de communes) and public establishments under the supervision of municipalities, as well as to natural parks as territorial public bodies.

4. In the Swiss Confederation

a. In the Canton of Solothurn, to municipalities and districts,

b. In the Canton of Basel-Stadt, to municipalities,

c. In the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, to municipalities,

d. In the Canton of Aargau, to municipalities,

e. In the Canton of Jura, to municipalities and districts,

f. as well as to their associations and legally autonomous public establishments.

2. The Länder mentioned in paragraph 1 No. 1 above and the cantons mentioned in paragraph 1 No. 4 above may also, in accordance with this Agreement, conclude between themselves and with the local authorities and local public bodies mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article, agreements devoid of international legal character and relating to cross-border cooperation projects, insofar as these projects fall within their powers under domestic law and do not contravene foreign policy and in particular international commitments.

3. State representatives in the French departments and regions are empowered to study with the competent authorities of the Länder and cantons concerned, without prejudice to the free exercise of their powers by local authorities, the means to facilitate initiatives between French local authorities on the one hand and the Länder and cantons on the other hand, when differences in domestic law between the states concerned compromise their effectiveness.

4. The Parties may agree in writing to extend the scope of this agreement to other local authorities, associations of local authorities or public establishments reporting to local authorities, as well as to other legal persons governed by public law when their participation is authorized by domestic law and insofar as the participation of local authorities in the various forms of cross-border cooperation is maintained.

5. The bodies mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 are considered local authorities or local public bodies for the purposes of this agreement.

6. In this Agreement, the term "cross-border cooperation" refers to the cross-border cooperation of local authorities and local public bodies, with the exception of cross-border cooperation between sovereign States, which is not governed by this Agreement.

1. Local authorities or public local bodies may enter into cooperation agreements with each other in common areas of competence that they hold under the domestic law applicable to them. The cooperation agreements must be made in writing. A copy shall be drafted in the language of each of the concerned Parties, each version being equally authentic. Cooperation agreements entered into with a Luxembourgish or Swiss local authority or public body may be drafted in French or German.

2. The purpose of the cooperation agreements is to enable the partners to coordinate their decisions and to jointly implement and manage facilities or public services of common local interest. To this end, these cooperation agreements may provide for the creation of cooperation bodies, which may or may not have legal personality under the domestic law of each Party.

3. Regarding the Federal Republic of Germany, the Länder may, in particular cases, transfer sovereign powers to neighborhood cooperation institutions, in accordance with the spirit of article 24, paragraph 1a of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, provided that the domestic legal conditions are met for this purpose.

1. Each local authority or public local body entering into a cooperation agreement must, prior to its commitment, adhere to the procedures and controls imposed by the applicable domestic law. Similarly, any actions taken by each local authority or public local body to implement the cooperation agreement are subject to the procedures and controls stipulated by the applicable domestic law.

2. The cooperation agreement specifies the duration for which it is concluded. It contains a provision concerning the conditions required to terminate the cooperation.

3. Powers that a local authority exercises as an agent of the State, police powers, and regulatory powers cannot be the subject of cooperation agreements.

4. The cooperation agreement cannot alter the status or competencies of the local authorities or public local bodies that are parties to it.

5. The cooperation agreement includes a provision that determines the methods for establishing the liability of each local authority or public local body vis-à-vis third parties.

6. Cooperation agreements define the applicable law concerning the obligations they contain. The applicable law is that of one of the Parties. In the event of a dispute concerning compliance with these obligations, the competent jurisdiction is that of the Party whose law has been chosen.

1. The cooperation agreement may, in particular, provide that a local authority or public local body performs tasks on behalf of and under the directives of another local authority or public local body, while respecting the internal law of the entity which holds the power of direction.

2. The concessions or delegations of public service, which a local authority or public local body subject to a Party may grant to the benefit of a local authority, a public local body of another party, or a cross-border cooperation organization referred to in Articles 10 and 11 of this Agreement, are subject to the provisions and procedures defined by the internal legislation of each of the Parties.

1. When cooperation agreements provide for the award of public contracts, this is subject to the law of the Party applicable to the local authority or cooperation body referred to in Articles 10 and 11 that assumes responsibility for it.

2. If local authorities or local public bodies from other Parties are directly or indirectly involved in the financing of this public contract, the agreement specifies the obligations imposed on each local authority or local public body for an operation of this type, taking into account its nature and cost, regarding procedures related to publicity, competition, and the selection of companies.

3. Local authorities or local public bodies shall take all necessary measures to enable each of them to comply with its obligations under its national law without infringing the law applicable to these public contracts.

1. Cooperation agreements bind only the local authorities or public local bodies that are signatories. The Parties are in no way bound by the consequences of the contractual obligations contained in cooperation agreements concluded by local authorities or public local bodies or by the implementation of these cooperation agreements.

2. If a cooperation agreement is declared null and void in one of the concerned Parties in accordance with its domestic law, the other concerned Parties shall be informed without delay.

1. Cross-border cooperation agreements may provide for the creation of entities without legal personality (Article 9), the creation of entities with legal personality or participation in these entities (Article 10), or the creation of a local grouping for cross-border cooperation (Article 11), in order to ensure the effective implementation of cross-border cooperation.

2. When a local authority or a local public body plans to create a cross-border cooperation entity or to participate in such an organization outside the State to which it belongs, this creation or participation requires prior authorization according to the conditions of the domestic law of the Party to which it belongs.

3. The authority responsible for oversight informs the competent authorities in the Parties of the measures it intends to take and the results of its oversight insofar as this information may have an impact on the cooperation of local authorities or local public bodies participating in this cooperation.

4. The statutes of the cross-border cooperation entity and its resolutions are drafted in the language of each Party. The statutes or resolutions of a cross-border cooperation entity involving a Luxembourg or Swiss local authority or public body may be drafted in French or German.

1. Local authorities or local public bodies may, in accordance with Article 3, create common bodies without legal personality or budgetary autonomy, such as conferences, inter-municipal working groups, study and reflection groups, coordination committees to examine questions of common interest, formulate cooperation proposals, exchange information or encourage the adoption by the bodies concerned of necessary measures to implement the defined objectives.

2. A body without legal personality cannot adopt decisions binding its members or third parties.

3. The cooperation agreement that provides for the creation of bodies without legal personality shall contain provisions on

a. the areas to be covered by the body's activities,

b. the establishment and working procedures of the body,

c. the duration for which it is constituted.

4. The body without legal personality is subject to the law defined by the cooperation agreement.

1. Local Authorities or Public Local Bodies

Local authorities or public local bodies may participate in legal entities or create such entities if the latter belong to a category of entities authorized under the domestic law of the Party where they are headquartered to include foreign local authorities.

1. A local transboundary cooperation grouping may be established by local and public local authorities and bodies with the aim of carrying out missions and services of interest to each of them. This local transboundary cooperation grouping is subject to the domestic law applicable to public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation of the Party where it has its headquarters.

2. The local transboundary cooperation grouping is a legal entity under public law. It is granted legal personality from the date of entry into force of the decision to create it. It is endowed with legal capacity and budgetary autonomy.

1. The local authorities or local public bodies concerned shall agree upon the statutes of the cross-border local cooperation grouping.

2. The statutes of a cross-border local cooperation grouping shall notably contain provisions regarding

1. the local authorities or local public bodies that comprise it,

2. its purpose, its missions, and its relations with the local authorities or local public bodies that comprise it, particularly concerning the responsibility for actions carried out on their behalf,

3. its name, the location of its registered office, the geographical area concerned,

4. the powers of its bodies, its functioning, the number of representatives of the members in the bodies,

5. the procedure for convening members,

6. quorums,

7. the procedures and majorities required for deliberations,

8. the modalities of its functioning, particularly concerning personnel management,

9. the criteria according to which members must contribute to financial needs and the budgetary and accounting rules,

10. the conditions for amending the statutes, including the admission and withdrawal of members,

11. its duration and the conditions of its dissolution, subject to the following provisions,

12. the conditions of its liquidation after dissolution.

3. The statutes of the cross-border local cooperation grouping shall provide for the conditions under which amendments to the statutes are adopted. These shall be adopted by a majority that is not less than two-thirds of the statutory number of representatives of the local authorities and local public bodies within the assembly of the grouping. The statutes may provide for additional provisions. In the case of a cross-border local cooperation grouping associating local authorities or local public bodies from three or four parties, this majority shall not be less than three-quarters.

1. The bodies of the cross-border local cooperation grouping are the assembly, the president, and one or more vice-presidents. The vice-presidents are chosen from among the members of the local and regional authorities and public local bodies from each of the Parties other than the one to which the president belongs. Each local and regional authority and public local body shall have at least one seat in the assembly, and none shall hold more than half of the seats alone. The statutes of the cross-border local cooperation grouping may, in compliance with the domestic law of each Party, provide for additional bodies.

2. The appointment and term of office of representatives of the local and regional authorities and public local bodies in the assembly of the cross-border local cooperation grouping are governed by the domestic law of the Party to which each represented local or regional authority or public local body belongs.

3. The assembly settles matters within the scope of the cross-border local cooperation grouping's purpose through its decisions.

4. The president ensures the implementation of the assembly's decisions and legally represents the cross-border local cooperation grouping. He or she may, under his or her own responsibility and supervision, delegate part of his or her functions to one or more vice-presidents.

1. The local cross-border cooperation grouping is financed by contributions from its members, which constitute mandatory expenses for them. It may also be funded by revenue collected from the services it provides.

2. It establishes an annual forecast budget approved by the assembly and prepares a balance sheet and an income statement certified by independent experts from the local authorities or public local bodies that constitute it.

3. Insofar as the local cross-border cooperation grouping is authorized to resort to borrowing, each loan and its repayment terms must be agreed upon by all its members. In the event of difficulty or dissolution of the local cross-border cooperation grouping, in the absence of specific provisions in its statutes, the local authorities or public local bodies are liable proportionately to their previous participation. The local authorities or public local bodies that are members of the local cross-border cooperation grouping remain responsible for its debts until they are fully extinguished.

1. The group is dissolved by operation of law either upon the expiration of the period for which it was established or at the end of the operation it was intended to conduct. It may also be dissolved by a unanimous decision of its members, provided that the conditions of its liquidation ensure the protection of third-party rights.

1. This Agreement shall also apply to cross-border cooperation conventions between territorial communities or local public bodies that were concluded before its entry into force. These shall be adapted to the provisions of this Agreement as far as possible within five years of its entry into force.

2. The powers and competences of existing intergovernmental cross-border cooperation bodies are not affected.

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the last Party has notified the other Parties that the internal conditions necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement have been fulfilled.

1. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite duration.

2. Each Party may terminate this Agreement by providing written notice of termination to the other Parties at least one year before the end of a calendar year.

3. If this Agreement is terminated, the cooperative measures that took effect before its expiration and the provisions applicable to the forms of cooperation shall not be affected.