Counselor Ollo supports the statement of the CTP demanding the opening of border crossings
The Minister of Citizen Relations, Ana Ollo, has supported the position of the Working Community of the Pyrenees which, in view of tomorrow’s Franco-Spanish summit in Barcelona, has stated that it “provides an optimal opportunity for them to be taken into consideration the main agreements included in the declaration of its presidents approved in Arantzazu on the occasion of its 40th Plenary Council”.
Among the aforementioned agreements, the one that affects “the need to open the border crossings blocked since January 2021 by the French authorities stands out, a demand shared by the group of actors in the cross-border space, involved and aware that it is necessary to continue deepening in the constitution of a fully integrated cross-border citizenship”. Likewise, the aforementioned statement mentions “the unavoidable need to define and apply the European Cross-Border Cooperation Mechanism (ECBM) as an instrument that already contributes to solving the legal and administrative obstacles that the trans-Pyrenean territory must face”. In this sense, “the Spanish and French States, as well as the European Commission, are urged to follow this path, seeking consensus.”
On the other hand, it mentions “the support for the development of trans-Pyrenean infrastructures that will contribute to diversifying the sources of energy supply, as well as promoting decarbonization through the use of renewable energy sources, such as green hydrogen and biomethane”. In addition, the Plenary Council claimed in the document “that the Regions and Autonomous Communities were incorporated into the decision-making processes.”
Finally, the aforementioned declaration stresses “the commitment to promote the adoption of a Trans-Pyrenees cooperation protocol for the promotion of renewable hydrogen, with the aim of creating a cross-border space for the use of the hydrogen economy, reinforcing the positioning of the territories and allowing them to achieve the decarbonisation objectives set in the state and European strategies”.
The members of the CTP consider that “the meeting between the Spanish and French governments constitutes an excellent opportunity to strengthen relations between the two States on these issues, and they express their willingness to contribute, from their respective powers, to the debate and collaboration to advance the priorities of the Pyrenean territories”.
The full statement is available at Basque, English, Catalan, French Y occitan.
Promote territorial cooperation
The Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) is an international consortium whose main objective is to contribute to the development of the Pyrenean massif, taking into account its resources, preserving its wealth and promoting territorial cooperation, in particular, cross-border cooperation to improve the lives of the inhabitants of their territories.
The members of the CTP are the Pyrenean territories: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, Euskadi and the Principality of Andorra.
The CTP was born in 1983 with the support of the Council of Europe, which aspires to provide the Pyrenean area with a cross-border cooperation structure similar to those existing on other European borders.
In 2005, the CTP became a consortium, a legal entity subject to Spanish public law, which gave it a new impetus for intervention, especially in the field of fund management and European programs Interreg VI-A Spain-France- Andorra (POCTEFA 2021-2027), POCTEFA 2014-2020 and POCTEFA 2007-2013.