Advantages of EEIGs - European Economic Interest Groupings
The European Commission has adopted a communication which sets out the potential advantages of European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) for participants in programmes financed by public funds and public contractors. A European Economic Interest Grouping is a legal instrument, under Community law, which facilitates transnational cooperation between firms established in different Member States. It allows a number of companies to interlink certain of their activities but retain their legal and economic independence. As such, an EEIG may have easier and less costly access to credit than a consortia, and it can also deal with financial institutions as a single entity. The communication clarifies the position of EEIGs as regards the Community Directives on public works, supply and services contracts. In respect of programmes financed by public funds, such as the Community's RTD programmes, the transnational nature of EEIGs may constitute an asset. Although Community programmes normally require projects to be submitted by separate legal entities from different Member States, the members of an EEIG retain their separate legal and economic independence. Therefore an EEIG may participate fully in such programmes.