This initiative supports public bodies and cross-border structures in overcoming legal and administrative barriers, providing targeted expert assistance to analyse specific obstacles, develop sustainable solutions and share best practices to deepen European integration.

Objectives of b-solutions 3.0

• To fulfil this goal, b-solutions 3.0’s specific objectives aim at:
  • Identifying 60 cases of cross-border obstacles of a legal and/or administrative nature to receive advice on possible solutions to solve a concrete hurdle to cross-border cooperation;
  • further elaborating and nudging towards implementation 20 cases of cross-border obstacles of a legal and/or administrative nature, selected among those which already received advice;
  • selecting 10 proposals through a dedicated call to develop specific solutions addressing concrete legal and administrative obstacles via pilot actions;
  • supporting the capacity building of the target group to implement solutions;
  • promoting sustainable methods of resolving obstacles, raising awareness of needs of citizens and stakeholders in border regions, and showing evidence of the potential of the proposed regulation to facilitate cross-border solutions;
  • consolidating knowledge on solutions and promoting the learning from best practices; and
  • publishing content raising awareness of common obstacles hindering cross-border cooperation, and of potential solutions.

Benefits for Selected Cases

• Selected cases will receive technical assistance from experts who will suggest solutions to overcome obstacles in areas such as:
  • Institutional cooperation
  • Public services
  • Labour market and education
  • European Green Deal

Target of the Call

• The present call for new b-solutions’ cases address eligible applicants to identify obstacles to cross-border cooperation in the following land and maritime border regions:
  • EU internal border regions;
  • Regions along the border between EU and EFTA countries;
  • Regions along the border between EU and IPA countries.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible entities are:
  • Public bodies at the national, regional or local level with a national boundary limiting the territory for which they have a mandate;
  • Cross-border entities such as European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs), Euroregions, Eurodistricts, Eurocities and similar cross-border structures with legal personality, established under public or private law;
  • “Cross-border coordination points” established in the framework of the eventually adopted EU Regulation Border Regions’ Instrument for Development and Growth in the EU – BRIDGEforEU;
  • “Bodies governed by public law” with mandate on a border territory according to Art. 2(1) no. 4 Directive 2014/24/EU, if fulfilling following criteria:
    • they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;
    • they have legal personality; and
    • they are financed, for the most part, by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law; or are subject to management supervision by those authorities or bodies; or have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law; and
    • "Public equivalent bodies", namely entities under private law which meet the conditions specified in 3) a)-c), with mandate on a border territory.
  • Applicants shall be located in an EU Member State or neighbouring EFTA or IPA country and share at least one land or maritime border with another EU Member State. Applicants located in an EU member state may also share a border with an EFTA country or an IPA country.

For more information, visit b-solutions.

https://www.b-solutionsproject.com/call-for-proposals