The Statute

Of the Cross-border Union

"Euroregion NEMUNAS"

 Article  1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

 1. This Statute shall not infringe the existing forms and formats of cross-border collaboration of the States and/or Parties of Euroregion NEMUNAS.

2. This Statute shall not infringe the domestic legislation of individual states and the Parties’ authorisations.

3. The Parties shall support local initiatives furthering cross-border collaboration in the territory of Euroregion NEMUNAS.

4. The Bodies of the Union shall not infringe the state legislation of the individual Parties.

5. While discharging its functions and performing its tasks the Union and its bodies shall be entitled to collaborate with both domestic and international organisations.

6. Each of the Parties is entitled to consult the content of the resolutions of the Union’s Board with the authorities of its states. The State Administration shall at all times and at any request be provided with all information about the activities of the Union and its resolutions.

 Article  2

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS OF THE UNION

 

The Union of Euroregion Nemunas shall be established in order to further collaboration in cross-border areas in the following fields:

- Comprehensive economic development,

- Spatial development,

- Public infrastructure,

- Education, health care, culture, sport and tourism,

- Environmental protection,

- Liquidation of natural threats and calamities,

-Development of contact between the inhabitants of cross-border areas and institutional collaboration, and collaboration of economic entities.

 Article  3

MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNION

1. The Union shall consist of full and common members. Honorary membership and the status of an observer can also be granted.

2. The founding members of the Union shall enjoy the status of a full member, the status of a common member and observer shall be granted by the Union’s Council.

3. The status of an observer shall be granted to those self-governments and regional authorities who collaborate with Euroregion NEMUNAS but do not border directly on the territory of the Euroregion.

4. The membership of the Union shall not exclude the right of its members to establish bilateral or multilateral relations and conclude agreements with organisations not belonging to Euroregion NEMUNAS.

5. Each of the members of the Union shall have a right to freely resign his membership provided he advises the Union’s Council 6 month before the date of resignation. The membership shall be terminated at the date of the Union’s Council’s resolution.

6. In the event of territorial or administrative alterations in the territory of any of the States and in case such alterations should affect the territory of activity of one or more members of the Union, the entities whose establishment should result from such alterations shall have the right to enter the Union by way of succession and in accordance with the domestic legislation of a given state.

7. All members of the Union shall have equal rights irrespective of the size of their territory and the number of population.

 Article  4

THE UNION’S BODIES

 

1. The authorities of the Union are the following:

- The Union’s Council,

- The Presidium of the Union’s  Council,

- The Union’s Secretariat.

2. The Authorities of the Union shall discharge coordinative and advisory functions in relation to the Union’s objectives referred to in Art. 2 and shall represent the Union.

3. The Audit Commission shall constitute a controlling body of the Union.

4. The number of the Union’s bodies, their structure and competencies shall be subject to alterations in accordance with the Parties’ resolutions, to be contained in appropriate alterations in the Statute.

 Article  5

THE UNION’S COUNCIL

1. The Union’s Council, henceforth referred to as the Council, shall be the highest authority of the Union.

2. The Council shall consist of 4 representatives from each of the Parties.

3. The representative of each of the Parties shall discharge the function of a member in the Council (Presidium) for a term of duty of the Body that has sent a given representative to the Council. The members of the Council shall discharge their functions until the election of new representatives.

4. The dismissal of a member of Council (Presidium) may take place in all times by the Party that has delegated him subject to prior notification of the Council’s Presidium. A new representative to replace the old Council’s member shall be delegated by the Party in a term of one month.

5. The meetings of the Council shall take place at least twice a year and are open to the public unless the Council should decide otherwise.

6. An extraordinary meeting of the Council shall be held should any of Parties request it.

7. The representatives of national authorities of the Parties and international organisations shall be entitled to take part in the Council’s meetings and its activities in the advisory capacity.

8. The Chairman of the Council’s meetings shall be elected on a rota system from the members of the Union’s Council’s.

9. The following are the Council’s competencies:

- Discussion and approval of joint projects within the range of cross-border collaboration within the Union, provision of financial means for them and their implementation,

- Introduction of alterations to the Statute,

- Approval of new members and dismissal of old ones in the Union and grant of honorary membership and the statute of an observer,

- Taking decisions as regards the budget of the Union,

- Election of the Union’s Council’s Presidium and the Audit Commission,

- Appointment of the Union’s Secretariat and determination of its budget,

- Adoption and exchangen of the regulations of the Council, Presidium, Secretariat, Audit Commission, Working Groups,

- Appointment of permanent and ad-hoc Working Groups to perform specific tasks in individual fields of cross-border collaboration and adoption of the Groups’ regulations,

- Adoption of resolutions concerning the Union’s membership in international organisations,

- Adoption of resolutions concerning other matters set out in the Statute,

- Adoption of the Euroregion symbolic.

10. All resolutions shall be adopted by unanimous vote of the Parties.

11. The projects of resolutions shall be submitted to the Council by Manager of the Union’s Secretariat or by a representatives of a Party.

12. The regulations of the Council shall in detail set out the principles of its activity.

 Article  6

THE PRESIDIUM OF THE UNION’S COUNCIL

 1. The Presidium of the Union’s Council, henceforth referred to as the Presidium, shall consist of 2 representatives from each of the Parties.

2. The Presidium shall discharge coordinative and representative functions in the name of the Council in the periods between its meetings.

3. The activity of the Presidium shall be subject to the regulations adopted by the Council.

 Article  7

THE UNION’S SECRETARIAT 

1. The Union’s Secretariat, henceforth referred to as the Secretariat, shall be an executive and administrative body appointed by the Council and consisting of an equal representation from all the Parties.

2. Each of the Parties shall have a national office, who managers are the Parties representativ in the Secretariat.

3. The national offices of the Secretariat shall not be mutually dependent and shall discharge coordinative and administrative functions for its own Party.

4. The managers of the national offices of the Secretariat shall participate in the meetings of the Council and the Presidium.

5. The following are the tasks of the Secretariat:

- Preparation for and submission to the Council the projects – translated into the Parties’ languages – of resolutions and other studies concerning joint enterprises within the range of cross-border collaboration.

- Preparation of the Council’s meetings,

- Assistance to Working Groups,

- Discharge of other functions connected with the administration and performance of financial tasks of the Union.

6. The functions of the manager of the Secretariat shall be discharged by the Secretariat’s National Office’s manager of this Party, whose member of the Presidium is currently the chairman of the Council.

7. The activity of the Secretariat shall be subject to the regulations adopted by the Council.

Article  8

THE AUDIT COMMISSION

 1. The Audit Commission shall proportionally represent each of the Parties.

2.The Audit Commission’s competencies shall be to control the correctness of documentation and utilisation of the Union’s financial means.

3. The Chairman of the Audit Commission shall be appointed in turn from among the members of the Commission by the Council for a year’s term of duty.

4. The activity of the Audit Commission shall be subject to the regulations adopted by the Council.

 Article  9

THE WORKING GROUPS 

1. Ad-hoc or permanent working groups can be established by the Council to perform specific and joint content-related tasks.

2. In exceptional cases working groups can be established by the Presidium, but in such a case they shall have to be approved by the Council at its next meeting.

3. The proposals and materials prepared by working groups shall be submitted to the Council by the Secretariat’s Manager.

4. Provided the Presidium should agree to this, experts can be invited to collaborate with working groups.

5. The Council shall determine the working scope of each working group and the way it should be financed.

6. The meeting of a working group shall be chaired by its chairman elected by a group itself.

7. The organisation of permanent and ad-hoc working groups’ activity shall be subject to the regulations adopted by the Council.

 Article  10

FINANCING OF THE UNION’S ACTIVITY

 1. The Union’s activity shall be financed within the minimum range indispensable for achievement of its aims and performance of its tasks by each of the Parties.

2. The Parties shall finance the Union’s activity in accordance with joint agreements and within their abilities.

3. Joint projects approved by the Council, and the costs of the Union’s bodies’ activities, shall equally be financed by the Parties, unless the Council should decide otherwise.

4. Within its own financial means, each Party can perform tasks determined by the Council for the benefit of the Union to be gratuitously utilised by the Union.

5. The Union’s budget can be increased or supplemented from outside sources.

6. The Council shall determine the consequences of Parties’ failure to perform their financial duties or grave delays in making appropriate payments.

 Article  11

DISSOLUTION OF EUROREGION NEMUNAS

 1. The Union shall be dissolved in the event of unanimous decision by all the Parties if:

- The aims and tasks the Union has been established for should neither be achieved        nor performed,

-The Union should only consist of one Party.

2. In the event of dissolution of the Union its assets, i.e. current and fixed assets (assets and liabilities) constituting the Union’s joint property, shall be divided among the Union’s Parties proportionally to their contribution.

3. The liquidation of the Union shall be carried out by the Liquidation Commission consisting of 3 representatives from each of the Parties.

 Article  12

CONCLUDING PROVISIONS

 1. This Statute shall constitute an Annex to the Agreement on establishment of Cross-border Union “Euroregion NEMUNAS” and become effective at the date of signing.

 In the name of Lithuanian Party: Alytus Contry Governor; Ignas Aleškevičius [signature], and Marijampolė Country Governor; Kostas Jankauskas [signature].

 In the name of Polish Party: Suwalki Country Governor: Cezary Cieślukowski [signature];

 In the name of Belarussian Party: Deputy Chairman of the Grodno County Executive Committee: Michail  Bielejev [signature];