Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ratify Protocol No. 3 to the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities concerning Euroregional Co-operation Groupings to promote cooperation among local authorities.

The UK has a long tradition of welcoming partnerships and cooperation among local authorities, and recognises that effective partnerships can enrich the economic, social and environmental success of communities.

For example, in 2019, the UK and French Governments hosted a Summit in London to bring together over 100 local authority leaders and mayors from across the UK and France. Following the Summit, the British Embassy in Paris launched a ‘call for projects’ from partnerships between the UK and France. Through this initiative, UK Government provided seed funding for 3 projects between UK/France partners, including Glasgow and Marseille, Manchester and Montpelier, and Kent and Pas de Calais.

To date, HMG has not considered the particular provisions of the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Protocols, as necessary considering our existing legal framework, but this is something we will keep under review.