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A European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) is a type of legal entity of the European corporate law created on 1985-07-25 under European Community (EC) Council Regulation 2137/85.[1] It is designed to make it easier for companies in different countries to do business together, or to form consortia to take part in EU programmes.
Its activities must be ancillary to those of its members, and, as with a partnership, any profit or loss it makes is attributed to its members. Thus, although it is liable for VAT and employees’ social insurance, it is not liable to corporation tax. It has unlimited liability. It was based on the pre-existing French groupement d´intérêt économique (G.i.e.).
Several thousand EEIGs now exist, active in fields as varied as agricultural marketing, legal advice, research and development, osteopathy, motorcycle preservation[citation needed] and cat-breeding[citation needed]. One of the more famous EEIGs is the Franco-German television channel ARTE.[2] Among other EEIGs:
- EURESA (fr) (operational and flexible tool for cooperation and collaboration among ten European insurance companies belonging to the Social Economy)
- Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián
- ERTMS Users Group (The ERTMS Users Group is an association of European railway infrastructure managers to share knowledge and experience on the European Rail Traffic Management System)
