Border: France-Spain-Andorra
Overview
Levels of governance
The national border level
There is no intergovernmental commission for this border, regarding which the involvement of central government on both sides is limited, notably on account of the high degree of autonomy of the Spanish communities. However, the regions on either side of the border have created a cooperation structure known as the Working Community of the Pyrenees. Set up in 1983 at the initiative of the Council of Europe to give the Pyrenees a structure for cross-border cooperation, this body aims to contribute to the development of the Pyrenean massif and seeks to promote exchanges between the territories and players in this mountain region.
The regional level
The whole of the border, with the exception of Aragon and Navarra, is covered by the Aquitaine-Euskadi and Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregions. Structured as EGTC, these two bodies are active particularly in the areas of transport, economic development and education.
The departmental/provincial and local level
Many cooperation initiatives have been developed at local level, such as within the territory of the Basque Eurocity, the cooperation initiatives led by the Basque Country Conurbation Community, the Cross-Border Catalan Eurodistrict, and the territories of the Cerdanya plateau, Bidasoa-Txingudi, Pirineus-Cerdanya and the “Pirineos-Pyrénées” EGTC.
