The Atlantic area is comprised of territories with different socio-economic characteristics, rich cultural and natural features, with a longstanding cooperation tradition. In 1989, the Faro Declaration created CPMR Atlantic Arc Commission to overcome development imbalances, peripherality, and the maritime economy weakening. With the creation of other Atlantic associations (Atlantic Cities, RTA-ATN, les Ceser de l’Atlantique), the Interreg Atlantic Area programme and the Atlantic Strategy, the Atlantic community has enhanced collaborations. 

Linking with the current Atlantic Maritime Strategy, the Atlantic Arc Commission voted in December 2020 for a Political Declaration asking the Council to issue a mandate to the European Commission to create an Atlantic Macro-Region. It has worked hand in hand with the European Parliament, which supports this proposal in its report “Towards a new approach to the Strategy for the Atlantic”, voted in September 2021, as well as with the Atlantic Member States, which have met on several occasions, notably in the context of the General Assembly in June 2021 and May 2022. In line with these discussions, the French, Spanish and Portuguese Secretaries of State agreed to jointly analyse the benefits of creating the Atlantic Macro-Region, in a Trilateral Declaration agreed on 5 November 2021. The Spanish Presidency of the Council in accordance with the interested Member States agreed to launch the work towards the elaboration of a mandate on the creation of the Atlantic Macro-Region during the General Affairs Council  In parallel, the Atlantic Network of Chambers of Commerce adopted a Declaration in favour of the Atlantic Macro-Region (June 2023) and Les CESER de l’Atlantique published a Study expressing their perspective on the creation of the Atlantic Macro-Region (November 2023). 

This unique territory has important potentials for the dynamic development but is facing major challenges at various levels including at the (intra and extra) EU, national, regional and local levels as well as in cross-border areas. Among the component regions there are strong flows of people and goods, and strong (inter) dependences that cover both maritime and territorial issues. The Atlantic area territorial trends and challenges are cross-border in nature and require cooperation across administrative levels, in order to tackle challenges in the fields of social cohesion, climate change adaptation, economic development, energy production/transportation, mobility and transport, for example. 

In this context, the project aims to analyse the territorial challenges and opportunities within the Atlantic area and provide policy recommendations to enhance cooperation and promote sustainable development. The project's primary objectives are to investigate and provide high-quality insights into the socio-economic and environmental trends in the Atlantic area. Specifically, the project aims to explore and present research on territorial development challenges and opportunities within the Atlantic Area, focusing on the main priorities for inclusion identified by the Atlantic Regions member of CPMR in their Cardiff Political Declaration, specifically: (i) An Innovative and Sustainable Atlantic Economy, (ii) An inter-connected Atlantic Area, (iii) An Atlantic Area resilient to climate change and (iv) Social and Cultural Cohesion of the Atlantic Area. By providing recommendations to policymakers, the project seeks to foster a common understanding and joint approach to addressing the development challenges and opportunities, aligning with EU policy objectives and the priorities identified by the Atlantic regions. 

Policy questions  

Thus, the project should answer the following policy questions:  

Stakeholders 

More information  

Contractor: Technopolis Group 

Joint Partner: University of Lisbon  

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