The Diplomat
The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, met yesterday in Madrid with the ambassadors of France and Portugal to discuss the interconnections of the Atlantic Arc. At the end of the meeting, the French representative promised to facilitate a meeting with the French Minister of Transport and showed his support for the creation of an “Atlantic macro-region” as long as it is the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who proposes it during the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
The first meeting of Urkullu -who traveled to Madrid accompanied by the Secretary General of Foreign Action, Marian Elorza- was with the French Ambassador, Jean-Michel Casa, before whom the lehendakari demanded that his country “fulfill its commitment” with the high-speed train connections (HST) that affect the Cantabrian coast and the Atlantic Arc and showed his concern for the Elysée’s decision to delay until 2042 the Bordeaux-Dax section without even setting a date for the border connection with Hendaye and asked, in that sense, to meet the deadline of 2030 recommended by the European Union itself.
Likewise, according to the Basque Government, he asked Casa for the creation of an “Atlantic macro-region” that would be officially recognized by the EU and that would allow defending the interests of these territories before the European Union in matters such as railway connections and energy.
In his response, Casa avoided setting any date for the HST connection, but he did commit to Urkullu to facilitate a meeting with the French Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, so that he can personally convey his demands to him. As for the “macro-region”, the ambassador assured that he did not see “difficulties” for it as long as it is Pedro Sánchez who proposes it during the Spanish semester, which begins on July 1st. Basque sources indicated that Sanchez could be receptive to this demand.
Subsequently, the lehendakari was received by the ambassador of Portugal, João Mira-Gomes, whose country has also been affected by the delays and who conveyed to him the support of António Costa’s government for his claims and assured that Lisbon is “willing to support” the macro-region, according to the Lehendakaritza.
Urkullu has personally assumed the leadership in favor of this macro-region in his capacity as president of the Atlantic Arc Commission and of the Working Community of the Pyrenees. For the moment, he has already obtained the backing of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Navarre and New Aquitaine for the connections, and of Wales and the same territories to create the macro-region. The lehendakari has also requested a meeting with the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, to which he will be accompanied by the President of New Aquitaine, Alain Rousset, to defend the Atlantic connection.
