Amaia Barredo to debate the challenges of the mountain economies at the European Mountain Convention in Puigcerdá

• The Basque Minister will appear on 16 October, along with Francés Xavier Boya Alòs, Secretary General for the Demographic Challenge; Herbert Dorfmann, Member of the European Parliament; Jean-Louis Cazaubon, Vice-President for Food Sovereignty, Viticulture and Mountains of the Occitania Region; and Eva Fiter, Director of the Institute for the Development and Promotion of the Haute-Pyrénées and Aran.

• The Conference will bring together in Catalonia over 200 people from different European regions to study how mountain economies can be more sustainable, resilient and prosperous.

• After holding the presidency of Euromontana, the Basque Country will hand over its role at head of the association that is the voice of mountainous regions across Europe.

The Basque Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries of the Basque Government, Amaia Barredo, will participate in a round-table discussion to be held on 16 October as part of the 13th European Mountain Convention Euromontana on the subject of “challenges facing mountain economies in a context of transition”. The debate will also feature other senior Spanish Government officials, the European Parliament and the regions of Occitania and Catalonia.

From 15 to 18 October, the border town of Puigcerdà in the province of Girona will host this Convention that will bring together hundreds of experts and stakeholders from different sectors across Europe, including members of European institutions, ministries, regional governments, local companies, universities and development agencies. This time, the Convention will focus on the future design of economies of these mountain areas, looking toward a 2050 horizon, established at the previous Convention held in Calabria. It will also address how to achieve more sustainable, resilient and prosperous economies by overcoming the geographic constraints that characterize them.

“Finding measures to overcome these challenges is important because these economies are based on traditional sectors, the driving force of these territories, providing employment for local communities and essential ecosystem services for society at large. They are spaces of opportunity for innovation in new economies,” said Minister Barredo.

The Convention will be divided into plenary sessions, round-table discussions and participative workshops on subjects like the economies of the future, valuing agricultural products, the diversification of offers, the environmental and climate transition, attracting workforce and links between rural and urban areas to build prosperous and resilient mountain economies.

Handover

After 12 years at the head of Euromontana, the Basque Country will hand over the presidency of the association to another country. Juan Antonio Gutiérrez, Director of Foresight and Networks at HAZI, who has represented the Basque Country as President of Euromontana, will present his candidacy for the Vice Presidency which must first be approved by the new Managing Committee to be chosen at the Euromontana General Assembly. This way, the Basque Country will continue to have significant weight within the organisation.

Euromontana is the multi-sectoral European associations for cooperation and development between mountain territories. Its mission is to “promote living mountains, working in favour of global and sustainable development and the improvement of quality of life in these areas”.

Close to 70 organisations, from more than 15 European countries, make up this association and facilitates the exchange of information and experiences between these territories through seminars and conferences, European studies and projects and close collaboration with institutions at European, national and regional level to be a voice for the mountains of Europe.