Basque President: “Our obligation is to defend the interests of Basques in Madrid, Paris and Brussels,”
- Lehendakari Imanol Pradales and the President of the Northern Basque Country/Iparralde met today in Baiona at the headquarters of the Community of Municipalities with the aim of boosting institutional cooperation.
The Basque President, or Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales and the President of the Community of Municipalities of the Northern Basque Country/Iparralde met today at that body’s Baiona headquarters with the aim of boosting institutional cooperation. The Lehendakari expressed his satisfaction with the spirit of cooperation shown by Jean-René Etchegaray. He also highlighted the same enthusiastic approach to the meeting held recently with the President of the Government of Navarre, Maria Chivite. In this regard, Pradales said that “this cooperation between our territories is an historic necessity, a fine example of working to respond to the reality of our Country.”
“In today’s meeting we discussed work in common. And an example of this cooperation is the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 7 November 2019.” The Lehendakari announced that the aim was to complete the Memorandum for December this year.
He then recalled some of the commitments included in this memorandum. “We are committed to furthering and strengthening collaboration on the eco-social transition, agriculture and sustainable food, mobility, territorial and economic development, the Basque language and culture, migration and, also boosting the Atlantic Axis.”
Important initiatives already underway
Since this agreement was first set out in 2019, major initiatives have been conducted such as the construction of the Multimodal Exchange Centre in Hendaia, the joint acts in defence of migrants in transit and the joint initiative that saw the European Commission authorised the first cross-border designation of origin area for local cider production: Euskal Sagardoa/Sidra del País Vasco, Cidre du País Basque/Euskal Sagarnoa.
In terms of boosting the Atlantic Axis, Pradales stated that “the nations and regions that make up the Atlantic Arc area at risk of becoming disconnected from new European development, and our interests and our own capabilities risk being caught offside. It’s our obligation to strengthen the position of the Atlantic Arc in Europe. That's why we will defend the interests of Basques on both sides of the Pyrenees in Madrid, Paris and Brussels.”.
To do so, a new tool is now available in the form of the Western Functional Area (AFOMEF) which, according to the Lehendakari, will facilitate the arrival of more European Regional Development Funds (FEDER).