The EGTC GO Assembly, the decision-making body composed of representatives of the founding municipalities of Gorizia, Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba, met on 22 April. The meeting focused on the approval of the 2025 budget, the revision of the Permanent Committees, and the definition of the operational and strategic guidelines for the period following the European Capital of Culture. Among the main outcomes highlighted during the Assembly were the balanced budget for the GO! 2025 year, the redistribution of almost eight million euros across the territory through projects, and the consolidation of an efficient organisational structure with increasingly specialised expertise. This development is the result of more than a decade of experience gained through the implementation and coordination of complex cross-border projects. The Assembly also approved the proposal to revise the Permanent Committees, reducing their number from seven to five through thematic mergers designed to better reflect the evolving priorities and conditions of the territory.

The presentation of the 2025 financial statements confirmed that the year closed in balance, despite the exceptional operational workload linked to the full implementation of GO! 2025. In a context made particularly challenging by the advance expenditures typical of European programmes, the economic and financial equilibrium was ensured through careful planning of cash flows and a prudent approach to resource management.

The financial statements show operating and structural costs in line with previous years, amounting to approximately 400,000 euros. These resources enabled EGTC GO to coordinate and manage projects and investments on a significantly larger scale, financed through European, national and regional funds. As EGTC GO Director Romina Kocina underlined, “the data contained in the report on the final accounts clearly show that in 2025 every euro allocated to the operation of EGTC GO generated a return of over 18 euros for the territory, confirming the efficiency of the organisation.”

In 2025 alone, this operational capacity translated into the management and coordination of projects with a total value of 7.97 million euros in the cross-border area. Almost half of this amount, corresponding to 3.87 million euros, relates to the Small Project Fund for 2025, which EGTC GO manages and has redistributed through three calls for proposals addressed to public bodies, associations and local operators implementing cross-border initiatives. The remaining 4.1 million euros include the redevelopment of Transalpina Square / Trg Evrope and the Trident area, activities related to GO! 2025, and other ongoing European projects. Taken together, these figures provide an objective indicator of the effectiveness of EGTC GO’s organisational model and its ability to transform public resources into tangible interventions, services and investments for the benefit of the territory.

The Assembly also emphasised the strategic value of the expertise developed by EGTC GO in the management and financial reporting of projects financed through different funding sources. This know-how has been built over the years through the simultaneous implementation of multiple European programmes. EGTC GO operates within a particularly complex analytical accounting system, validated by supervisory bodies, which guarantees full traceability of expenditure, compliance with the various applicable regulations and administrative accuracy throughout the reporting processes. In this regard, EGTC GO President Paolo Petiziol noted that “this technical expertise represents a strategic asset not only for EGTC GO itself, but also for the founding municipalities, the wider territory and the project partners.”

Among the most significant results achieved in 2025, the Assembly also recalled the completion of the redevelopment of Piazza Transalpina / Trg Evrope, implemented by EGTC GO acting as contracting authority and coordinating body, for a total value exceeding 4.2 million euros. A substantial part of the discussion was dedicated to the work carried out by EGTC GO for the implementation of GO! 2025, which in the past year required an extraordinary operational effort from an organisational, project-related and administrative perspective. Alongside the coordination of activities within its remit and the management of key strategic tools such as the Borderless Wireless platform and the Small Project Fund under the Interreg Italy–Slovenia Programme, EGTC GO also ensured continuous support for communication and promotional activities. This contribution played a decisive role in strengthening the international visibility and positioning of the European Capital of Culture.

During the session, the Assembly approved the revision of the Permanent Committees with the aim of aligning their structure more closely with the evolving strategic priorities of the territory and enhancing their operational effectiveness. The reorganisation, which does not involve statutory changes, replaced the previous seven sector-based Committees with five broader and more integrated thematic areas, covering transport and sustainable mobility, energy, spatial planning and the environment, health, sport and well-being, education, training, universities and culture, as well as economy and tourism. This new configuration supports a more transversal approach to public policies and greater coherence between strategic planning, operational project development and the activities of EGTC GO.

At the same time, the role of the Committees as a structured forum for dialogue with the territory has been strengthened through an increase in the number of members from six to nine, greater involvement of qualified experts and more direct participation by the municipalities through the presence of their representatives. The continued coordination entrusted to Assembly members ensures a constant link between technical and decision-making levels, maintaining the Committees as an operational tool supporting a bottom-up approach to project development.

Finally, the Assembly reviewed the overall framework of activities and projects planned for the 2026–2027 period. EGTC GO will remain engaged in several projects already underway through 2026 and 2027, financed by Interreg, Erasmus+ and Central Europe programmes, alongside the continuation of the Small Project Fund until its conclusion. The coming period will focus on consolidating the results achieved with GO! 2025 and developing its legacy phase, in continuity with the cross-border cooperation path built over recent years.