The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has vindicated the “strategic vision” of president Pasqual Maragall, as one of the promoters two decades ago of the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion, in the transfer this Friday of the presidency of this organization that they make up, in three bands, the governments of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the French region of Occitania.
Aragonès has taken over from the president of the Occitania Regional Council, Carole Delga, for the next two years, at an event held in Touluse (France), in which she has shown her commitment to the fight against the climate crisis and the promotion of cultural, educational and research exchange.
The Minister of Finance and Foreign Relations, Rosario Sánchez, as well as the President of the Youth Assembly of the Euroregion, Francesc Almendrós, were also present at the event, representing the Balearic Islands Government.
“From the very beginning, Catalonia has been a promoter of the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion, it was with the leadership of President Pasqual Maragall and today we remain committed to this strategic union”, Aragonès defended, ensuring that the Euroregions “are a fundamental piece in the process of building Europe”. In this context, he highlighted the vision of Maragall, who understood that making Barcelona, ??Catalonia, an influential European region had to start from broader territorial alliances.
The president has also advanced that the Generalitat wants to take advantage of the two years in office at the head of the Euroregion to promote a structure with greater territorial scope and greater political influence in the Mediterranean area, such as the creation of a new macroregion, in the style of the four already existing in Europe: Danube, Baltic, Adriatic and Alpine Region. Brussels will have to give the green light to this project, but an interesting detail, they explain from the Generalitat, is that the macro-regions can include actors from outside Europe, which would open the door to the participation of countries such as Tunisia or Morocco, among others. .
The last time the Generalitat presided over the Mediterranean Euroregion was in June 2007, when President Carles Puigdemont took office, a term that his successor, Quim Torra, concluded in February 2019.
In his speech, Aragonès has opted to “weave alliances, align objectives and build joint solutions” in the face of global challenges such as the climate emergency, the consequences of the war in Ukraine or the economic and social reconstruction of Europe after the pandemic.
Aragonès has also pointed out that the presidency of the Mediterranean Euroregion is an opportunity to “rebuild ties” with the European institutions, which were weakened during the process. In this sense, he recalled that as president of the Generalitat he has held various meetings with European commissioners, both in Brussels and Barcelona, ??where he was also able to speak with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the occasion of an act held at the Cercle d’Economia.
In the joint press conference, both Aragonès and the Occitan president Delga have defended that there is no reason to keep the border crossings between Spain and France closed that affect both territories. France closed these steps alleging security reasons related to jihadist terrorism, and in this sense, the president of the Generalitat has offered that the Mossos d’Esquadra can collaborate to “guarantee” security tasks.
