French General Code of Local Authorities
In forceI. - Without prejudice to the provisions of article L. 5215-40, the perimeter of the public intercommunal cooperation establishment may subsequently be extended, by order of the State representative(s) in the department(s) concerned, by the addition of new communes:
1° Either at the request of the municipal councils of the new communes. The modification is then subject to the agreement of the deliberative body of the public establishment of inter-municipal cooperation;
2° Or on the initiative of the deliberative body of the public establishment of inter-municipal cooperation. Modification is then subject to the agreement of the municipal council or councils whose admission is envisaged;
3° Or on the initiative of the State representative. The modification is then subject to the agreement of the deliberative body and the municipal councils whose admission is envisaged.
In all three cases, once the mayor of each of the member municipalities has been notified of the deliberations of the deliberative body of the public inter-municipal cooperation body, the municipal council of each member municipality has three months to decide on the admission of the new municipality, in accordance with the conditions of qualified majority required for the creation of the public inter-municipal cooperation body. In the absence of a decision within this timeframe, its decision is deemed to be favourable. The same rules apply to the municipal councils of the municipalities whose admission is being considered. In the cases referred to in 1° and 3°, the deliberating body has a period of three months from receipt of the request.
II. - The transfer of powers automatically entails the application of the provisions of the first three paragraphs of Article L. 1321-1, the first two paragraphs of l'article L. 1321-2 and the articles L. 1321-3, L. 1321-4 and L. 1321-5.
However, when the public establishment for inter-communal cooperation is responsible for economic activity zones, the immovable property of the member municipalities may be transferred to it in full ownership, insofar as it is necessary for the exercise of this responsibility. The financial and asset conditions for the transfer of real estate assets are decided by joint decision of the decision-making body and the municipal councils of the member municipalities, in accordance with the qualified majority required for the creation of the establishment, no later than one year after the transfer of powers. In cases where the exercise of the competence is subject to the definition of the community interest, this period runs from the time of its definition. The same applies when the public establishment is responsible for concerted development zones.
As of the date of the transfer of competencies, the public establishment for inter-communal cooperation is automatically substituted for the communes that make it up in all their deliberations and all their acts.
Contracts are executed under the previous conditions until they expire, unless the parties agree otherwise. The substitution of a legal entity for contracts concluded by the communes does not entail any right to termination or compensation for the co-contractor. The municipality that transfers the competence informs the co-contracting parties of this substitution.
When a municipality joins during the course of the year, the public establishment of inter-municipal cooperation may, on the basis of joint deliberations by the municipality and the public establishment of inter-municipal cooperation, collect the tax repayment mentioned in the last paragraph of article L. 5211-19. The terms of the repayment are determined by agreement between the commune and the public establishment of inter-municipal cooperation.
