Cooperation agreement between the Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa and the Conseil général of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Countries: France , Spain
Regions concerned: Gipuzkoa province (Spain); Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (France)

Cross-border cooperation between the "Diputacion Foral de Guipuzkoa" and the "Conseil général des Pyrénées-Atlantiques" began in the 2000s, the two territories sharing, as well as a border, similar interests and a common culture. In order to enable cross-border projects to be carried out, local authorities signed a cooperation agreement in 2005.

Renewed for the period 2010-2015, the main objective of the agreement is to establish a dialogue and regular collaboration between French and Spanish regional authorities.

The Guipuzkoa Province and the Department of "Pyrénées-Atlantiques" have a common 12km long border. In the absence of physical obstacles, the numerous and long-standing neighbourhood exchanges within these contiguous territories have made it possible to develop common traditions borrowed from Basque culture and to define common interests. The cross-border living area has a population of nearly 1.35 million inhabitants and represents a significant economic potential for the territories.

The 2016-2020 agreement is currently under discussion and is intended to be more operational than the previous ones in order to allow cooperation to coincide with the 2014-2020 programming period, and thus to respond to the "POCTEFA" calls for projects.