Cognitive radio in network core devices, such as basestations, is being considered as a spectrum management solution for future society's communication demands. Aside from new resource allocation algorithms, efficient inter- and intra-protocol processing should be considered. In this paper, we propose an opportunistic cross layer architecture called COmmon Layer Architecture (COLA) for information exchange between arbitrary layers in New Generation Networks with network-oriented cognitive radio. COLA provides a means for faster information exchange between OSI layers by introducing abstraction at each layer and designing primitives for communication between each abstraction layer. Emulation and simulation results showed improvements, compared to conventional networks, in disrupted service (42% reduction), average delay (47% reduced) and packet drop ratio (22% reduced) in the scenario analyzed.