20.12.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 347/303 REGULATION (EU) No 1302/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 December 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) as regards the clarification, simplification and improvement of the establishment and functioning of such groupings THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the third paragraph of Article 175 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, Whereas: (1) In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 10822006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (%), the Commission adopted on 29 July 2011 a report for the European Parliament and the Council on the application of that Regulation. In that report, the Commission announced its intention to propose a limited number of modifications to Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 to facilitate the establishment and operation of EGTCs, as well as to propose clarification of certain existing provi- sions. Obstacles to establishing new EGTCs should be removed while maintaining continuity in, and facilitating the operation of, existing ones, thus allowing more extensive use of EGTCs to contribute to better policy coherence and cooperation between public bodies without creating an additional burden on national or Union administrations. (2)  The establishment of an EGTC is a matter to be decided by its members and their national authorities, and is not automatically linked with any legal or financial advantages at Union level. (3)  The Treaty of Lisbon added a territorial dimension to Cohesion Policy and 'Community' was replaced by ‘Union'. The new terminology should therefore be introduced into Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006. () OJ C 191, 29.6.2012, p. 53. () OJ C 113, 18.4.2012, p. 22. (*) Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) (O] L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19). ) EGTCs can have the potential to enhance the promotion and achievement of the harmonious development of the Union as a whole and the economic, social and territorial cohesion of its regions, in particular, and to contribute to meeting the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (Europe 2020 strategy). EGTCs can also contribute positively to reducing Dbarriers to territorial cooperation between regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, including the specific situation of outermost regions, and can be instru- mental in strengthening the cooperation between third countries, overseas countries and territories (‘OCTS’) and Union border regions, including through the use of Union external cooperation programmes. Experience with EGTCs established so far shows that, as a legal instrument, EGTCs are also being used for cooperation in the context of Union policies other than Cohesion Policy, including by implementing programmes or parts of programmes with Union financial support other than that under Cohesion Policy. The efficiency and effectiveness of EGTCs should be enhanced by broa- dening the nature of EGTCs, removing persistent barriers and facilitating the establishment and operation of EGTCs while maintaining the Member States’ ability to limit the actions that EGTCs are able to carry out without Union financial support. Under Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 EGTCs have in each Member State the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under that Member State’s national law, including the possibility of concluding agreements with other EGTCs, or other legal entities, for the purposes of carrying out joint cooperation projects to, inter alia, provide for more efficient operation of macro-regional strategies. By definition, EGTCs operate in more than one Member State. Consequently, Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 provides for the possibility for the EGTC’s convention and statutes to state the applicable law on certain issues. The cases in which such statements are to give priority, within the hierarchy of applicable law laid down in that Regulation, to the national law of the Member State where the EGTC has its registered office should be clarified. At the same time, the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on applicable law should be extended to the acts and activities of an EGTC that are subject to legal scrutiny by Member States in each indi- vidual case. As a result of the differing status of local and regional bodies in Member States, competences that are regional on one side of a border can be national on the other,