Created in 1983, the Pyrenean Cooperation Community (CTP) is a cross-border cooperation territory with seven members. Today, they include more than 23 million inhabitants. Since 2019, and until November 2021, the rotating Presidency of the CTP is held by the Generalitat of Catalonia, which is also a member of Euromontana. Rosa Amorós i Capdevila is Mayor of Isona i Conca Dellà, a municipality of 1,000 inhabitants in the Catalan Pyrenees, as well as a delegate of the Catalan Government in the Hautes-Pyrénées and Aran region. She was appointed Secretary General of the CTP for the period of the Catalan Presidency. On this occasion, Rosa Amorós i Capdevila reflects on the recent and future actions of the CTP and on the work that still needs to be carried out for a smarter Pyrenees by 2050.
Euromontana: what is the Pyrenean Cooperation Community and what is its current mission?
Rosa Amorós i Capdevila: “The Pyrenean Cooperation Community (CTP) was created in 1983 with the mission to address the development challenges of the Pyrenean territories.
Currently, the Pyrenean Strategy (2018-2024) is the strategic instrument adopted by the Pyrenean border territories for the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Pyrenees. This strategy for 2024 is mentioned in the European Commission’s Border Orientation Paper as one of the reference documents for cross-border cooperation on the French-Spanish-Andorran border.”
What actions are currently being implemented in the framework of the Pyrenean Strategy?
“In the framework of the Pyrenean Strategy, the CTP wants to promote Pyrenean initiatives towards EU institutions through ideas coming from the working groups on different topics.
We have therefore started to set up actions and we would like to highlight two of them.
Firstly, the organisation, planned for this year, of the first trans-Pyrenean youth forum bringing together young people from the 7 territories of the CTP.
Secondly, the organisation of one of the first 10 planned BSOLUTIONS. It brings together the healthcare institutions of the 7 territories of the CTP with the aim of establishing and signing bilateral agreements to allow ambulances to cross the border. Building on this experience, the CTP then collaborated on the BSOLUTIONS application of the Hospital of Cerdanya regarding the administrative simplification of the recognition of doctors’ diplomas between France and Spain, which was retained as a point on the agenda of the Franco-Spanish summit on 15 March.
We are convinced that the CTP can play a role in making the territory more dynamic by reducing the obstacles to cross-border cooperation.
These actions have contributed to CTP receiving the international Sail of Papenburg award from the Association of European Border Regions, a prize that rewards exemplary organisations in cross-border cooperation and of which we are extremely proud.”
The CTP has analysed the effects of the COVID-19 on mountain areas: what are the main consequences of the pandemic in the mountains?
“Travel restrictions of citizens between territories have had obvious consequences on sectors that live on tourism in the mountains.
The effects of the pandemic therefore highlight the need to adapt the activity of the CTP in order to jointly address the challenges related to health, economy and social welfare that are caused on cross-border cooperation and mountain areas.
In this context, we can mention the creation of a COVID-19 working group, which launched a questionnaire through which each of the territories was able to identify in a report the obstacles and good practices in terms of cross-border cooperation in the Pyrenees.”
[…]
Rosa Amorós i Capdevila shares her analysis of cross-border cooperation after COVID-19 and her vision of the Pyrenees for 2050. To discover all her reflections on the future of smart mountains, read the full interview!
10 May 2021
