Spain and Portugal commence specific actions on border in response to demographic challenge

This is a framework document that allows the demographic challenge to be tackled jointly, and guarantees equal opportunities, economic growth, job creation, connectivity and improves the quality of life of the people who live on either side of the border, with a particular focus on women and young people.

The scope of action of the document spans, in the two countries, a total of 2,782 municipalities and freguesías, 5,014,600 inhabitants ad 143,719 km2, accounting for 17% of the surface area of Spain and almost 62% of that of Portugal.

"The strategy recovers the central nature of this land in Portugal and in Spain, and offers a strategic territorial vision, which aspires to become a positive and innovative example of cooperation in Europe", declared the Fourth Vice-President of the Government, Teresa Ribera.

The strategy is a key tool that will allow the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience of the Spanish Economy Plan to be structured quickly and effectively and help channel investments towards the common cross-border area. The Fourth Vice-President of the Government highlighted that "the document prioritises cross-border and multi-country projects as vectors for the recovery and for the creation of social, economic and environmental resilience at a European level. In this regard, our countries are pioneers".

The document is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, with the commitment of the two governments and involves the participation of all relevant parties: regional governments, local authorities and social and economic stakeholders.

Strategic Goals

The Common Cross-border Development Strategy establishes five strategic goals: to guarantee equal opportunities on both sides of the border; to guarantee the right provision of basic services by harnessing resources; to facilitate cross-border interaction; to foster the development of new economic activities and business initiatives, and to promote the establishment of people in those cross-border areas that are particularly affected by rural depopulation.

In order to achieve these goals, the text proposes acting on five vectors of transformation: cross-border mobility and the elimination of border-related costs; the development of and improvements to infrastructures to enhance physical and digital connectivity; coordination and support in managing such basic services as education, health and social services; economic development and territorial innovation, together with environmental protection, development of the urban agenda and culture.

Cross-border mobility and connectivity

With the aim of simplifying obstacles and removing barriers to mobility, the strategy enhances and promotes the figure of the cross-border worker through the creation of a specific document that regulates this, establishing support and information points in cross-border municipalities, guaranteeing the rights stemming from the free movement of workers, and extending and strengthening the activity of the Eures network.

The strategy also establishes the promotion of local cross-border transport, addresses improvements in the current toll system and seeks to boost the digitalisation and sustainability of transport. It also provides for the creation of a single traffic document to standardise the movement of children on both sides of the Euro-cities and Euro-regions.

Infrastructures and digital connectivity

In the field of connectivity, the strategy stresses the need to draw up a digital connectivity plan adapted to the region and to foster the development of 5G pilot projects in cross-border areas. Specifically, the 5G connectivity corridor on the Porto-Vigo, Évora-Mérida, Aveiro-Salamanca and Faro-Huelva motorways

Other priority areas of the strategy to promote a favourable business environment in driving sectors for job creation include boosting the adaptation of cross-border infrastructures to the new needs stemming from climate change and the digital transition and the coordination of geographic and cartographic information that facilitates the future implementation of autonomous mobility.

As regards infrastructures, the document contains, among other measures, a boost to the completion of the Atlantic Corridor infrastructure in cross-border areas, together with the modernisation and improvement of connections by highway and railway infrastructures. Among others, the connection of the A-11 motorway between Zamora and the A4/E82 (Quintanilla) will be completed, together with the EXA1 connection with the A23 (Moraleja-Monfortinho-Castelo Branco).

Education, health and social services

The text also addresses the promotion and design of joint vocational training programmes. It will also promote and facilitate access by young people on both sides of the border to higher education and vocational training, and the creation of a network of bilingual cross-border schools will be promoted.

For greater efficiency of resources, cooperation and coordination in care and response to medical emergencies in cross-border areas will be promoted, with the creation of an individual cross-border medical identity card and the creation of a joint administrative portal.

Spain and Portugal will also promote networks of collaboration for the prevention of social exclusion in cross-border areas, particularly of the elderly and vulnerable families, and collaboration will be fostered to fight gender-based violence by strengthening the coordination of social services.

In the field of security, the efficacy of the 112 service will be promoted in cross-border regions, allowing travel and transport by the closest team to the emergency site.

Furthermore, and to enhance coordination in managing forest fires, an Iberian Centre for Research and to Fight Wildfires (Spanish acronym: CILIFO) will be set up.

Economic development and innovation

The economic revitalisation and job creation in the cross-border region is another priority pillar. To achieve this, Spain and Portugal will draw up policies aimed at overcoming regulatory barriers, promoting proportional frameworks for access to and the activity of business initiatives.

A joint analysis will also be made of the possibilities of fiscal harmonisation between Spain and Portugal, together with tax instruments and incentives that contribute to promoting economic activity on both sides of the border.

The strategy also creates an agroforestry and agri-food development programme in cross-border regions that promotes sustainable systems, and the implementation of a sustainable and inclusive recovery programme for abandoned hamlets to rehabilitate their social and urban fabric.

The dynamic nature of tourism will be boosted through such initiatives as Border Strengths, among other activities, together with the promotion of cross-border trade fairs.

Sustainability and the conservation of biodiversity

The strategy will promote a global agreement on the conservation of Iberian biodiversity and will back the joint management of protected cross-border areas and the study of the declaration of new ones.

The document also proposes to develop the cooperation agreement for the sustainable use of river basins and to undertake the coordinated management of protected marine areas close to the two countries, such as the Rivers Baixas/Maceda and the Mud Volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz/Southwest Coast of the River Formosa and consolidate cooperation between Spain and Portugal on adaptation to climate change.

At an energy level, cooperation will be stepped up in the field of renewable energies, including green hydrogen and energy interconnections, taking into account the shared goal of a carbon neutral economy.

Unlike most border areas in the European Union, the cross-border regions between Spain and Portugal - 1,214 kilometres of land border - suffer from regressive demographic dynamics, with population loss and ageing. Reversing this situation is key for the revitalisation of these areas, for establishing populations and reducing the demographic, social and economic vulnerability, which requires policies and strategies adapted to these regions which allow for the boost under the European reconstruction plans to be harnessed.

Non official translation