Adoption of the proposal for a Directive on European cross-border associations

Subject: Adoption of the proposal for a Directive on European cross-border associations

The Commission’s proposal for a Directive on European cross-border associations (2023/0315(COD)) (ECBA Directive) is currently awaiting the Council’s position and approval, the Parliament having adopted its position on 13 March 2024.

The adoption of the ECBA Directive is an opportunity for the thousands of civil society organisations working in cross-border regions. Every day, these organisations come up against administrative obstacles that hinder the proper functioning of their daily work, such as access to resources and funding, and duplicated administrative and accounting paperwork. Furthermore, public administration itself would benefit from improved administrative procedures if the ECBA Directive were to be adopted, since it would lead to simplified procedures for accessing funding and resources, consolidated fund and partnership management, and an end to paperwork duplication.

Given that the ECBA Directive is now in its final stage, does the Commission have a specific timeline for when it might be adopted?

Submitted: 19.12.2024

Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission (1 April 2025)

The Commission’s proposal for a directive on European cross-border associations (2023/0315(COD)) (ECBA Directive (1)) aims at improving the functioning of the internal market by removing legal and administrative barriers for non-profit associations that operate or wish to operate in more than one Member State, thus promoting the role non-profit associations play in generating economic and societal values in the EU and allowing a level playing field between them.

The Commission’s proposal introduces an additional legal form of a European cross-border association (ECBA) in Member States’ national legal systems, which is specifically designed for cross-border purposes and will reduce legal and administrative burden when it comes to the recognition and establishment of non-profit associations engaging in activities in another Member State.

Once established in one Member State, an ECBA will be recognised automatically and will be able to operate in all Member States as well as transfer its registered office in another Member State, thereby allowing non-profit associations to drive prosperity and unleash their full societal and economic potential in the EU.

In March 2024, the Council started examining the proposal. The Commission urges the Council to adopt its position and stands ready to assist the Council for this purpose and support the co-legislators through the negotiation process.

1 ∙ ⸱ The proposal for a directive is accompanied by Regulation of technical nature amending the internal market Information System (IMI) and the Single Digital

Gateway (SDG) Regulations, to allow cooperation and exchange of information among competent authorities through the IMI system and to conduct digital operations through the SDG allowing access to information about ECBAs available online; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/? uri=CELEX:52023PC0516