The Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc met in Porto to continue advancing in strengthening the mechanisms of inter-chamber and inter-institutional cooperation that contribute to working jointly on the economic, social, and environmental challenges faced by the regions that make up the Atlantic Arc, as agreed in the Declaration of the Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc, signed last June in Bilbao.
The event brought together the Chambers of A Coruña, Álava, Avilés, Bayonne, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Burgos, Cantabria, Gijón, Gipuzkoa, Lugo, Navarra, Oviedo, Santiago de Compostela, Torrelavega, Tui, Vigo, Pontevedra, and Vilagarcía de Arousa, as well as the Portuguese Business Association and the Spanish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce.
The welcome was given by AEP administrator Paulo Vaz, CCDR-N president António Cunha, and the president of the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, José Ignacio Zudaire, in his role as technical secretariat. This was followed by an intervention from the Secretary General for EU and External Action of the Basque Government and President of the Atlantic Arc Commission, Mª Ángeles Elorza, who explained the steps taken to create the Atlantic Arc Macroregion.
Afterwards, the president of the Bilbao Chamber outlined the main milestones achieved to date by the Chambers that signed the Bilbao Declaration, highlighting the positive response from the Presidency of the Government of Spain to the letter requesting its support for including the issues contained in the Declaration of the Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc—particularly those related to the creation of an Atlantic Macroregion—on the agenda of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Zudaire reported on the contacts made to expand the number of Atlantic Arc Chambers involved in the cooperation proposal and on the advances made in developing interregional cooperation projects to address improving connectivity and influence capacity, the first of the challenges raised by the Chambers.
In this area, four working groups have already been formed to tackle different projects, such as progress on the Atlantic Rail Corridor for freight and passengers and High Speed rail; the implementation of a Forum of the Chambers of the Atlantic Arc, a web platform, and a network of collaborating companies; the development of sectors along the Camino route, including tourism industries and the silver and green economy; and progress on the Hydrogen Corridor.
Zudaire stressed that these Chambers represent a macroregion of nearly 20 million inhabitants and must cooperate to join forces “to make the Atlantic Arc a more competitive, more sustainable, more dynamic, more open, and more connected territory, where citizens enjoy a higher quality of life.” He emphasized that this unity and the work undertaken are unrelated to political ups and downs and that the claim before Brussels to be recognized as a Macroregion is only one aspect of many on which they have begun to work jointly. “We cooperate because we focus on what unites us, not on what separates us, and a single voice goes further and is better heard,” he said.
The president of the Bilbao Chamber considers that “we are facing unprecedented challenges derived, among other circumstances, from the ecological transition, digital transition, and demographic challenge, in a global context in which economic centers of gravity are moving away from our environment. The risk of losing competitiveness, attractiveness as a territory, and influence capacity is real, and for this reason, we have already put in place the necessary mechanisms to counteract threats with our strengths.”
During the event, the director general of Orkestra, María José Aranguren, presented the working methodology for discussion, as well as the action plan for 2024, which includes the design and implementation of four interregional cooperation processes. The event concluded with an intervention on the current situation of the Atlantic Arc Macroregion by the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira.