ATLANTIC CITIES

Atlantic Cities is a cooperation network based on the specific identity of the cities and towns of the Atlantic Arc, which currently brings together 16 members from 4 European countries: Spain, France, Ireland and Portugal.
The network's priorities are governance, innovation, culture and society, and climate change.

Our main objectives are :

• To promote cooperation at the Atlantic and European level to support the development of the cities of the Atlantic Arc and strengthen the competitiveness of these areas.

• To defend the interests of the cities of the Atlantic façade before the European institutions in order to place these issues at the heart of public policies.

Atlantic Cities is the European network of the Atlantic Arc cities and towns, across 4 different countries: Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. It was established in 2000 through the Rennes Declaration, is a non-profit organization seeking to foster cooperation among cities within the Atlantic Arc.

Since 2021 it has been chaired by Donostia / San Sebastián (Spain). Atlantic Cities represents the voices of 16 member cities and a population of over 3 million residents vis-à-vis the European Union and Atlantic governance bodies.

Concerned by a common coastline, the Atlantic Arc cities are attractive, innovative territories which guarantee high living standards on the basis of a large number of economically appealing areas.

Located on the periphery of Europe, they have created sturdy diverse cultural identities thanks to the influence of the ocean, a blending of cultures, trade, and migratory movements that have emerged down through the centuries.

They possess a natural and historical heritage which is remarkable, but also fragile and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The peripheral location of these cities, particularly since the advent of Brexit, represents a major social and economic challenge. The Atlantic Arc cities consider that these issues go beyond the merely local level, and call for transnational territorial cooperation to come up with collective answers to all of them.

This cooperation takes the form of:

• Thematic working groups

• Territorial cooperation projects (Interreg Atlantic Area, Horizon Europe, EMFAF fund, ESPON programme)

• Collaboration with other Atlantic stakeholders (economic and non-profit Atlantic stakeholders and Regions)

The Atlantic Cities network also strives to represent the interests of Atlantic arc cities vis-à-vis the European union and Atlantic governance bodies. The network is an:

• Observer member on the Interreg Atlantic Area programme

• Observer member for the Atlantic Maritime Strategy of the European Commission:

• Member of pillar II: Blue Skills and Ocean Literacy

• Member of pillar IV: Coastal Resilience and a Healthy Ocean The Atlantic Cities association brings together the Atlantic Area cities to enable them to discuss their experiences and good practices though internal working groups, on topics such as Culture, Gastronomy , Ocean protection and Sustainable tourism.

In line with its priorities, the Atlantic Cities association is a partner of the European project WINBLUE, alongside its members, Gijón City Council (Spain) and the La Rochelle agglomeration (France), which are in turn partners associated with this project co-financed by the European Union through the EMFAF programme. Atlantic Cities is also a partner on the European project POST (Polycentric Sustainable Tourism), co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Atlantic Area cooperation programme. Atlantic Cities defends the interests of cities in the Atlantic area by ensuring that the specific issues of these territories are taken into account in public policies.

To this end, Atlantic Cities maintains an ongoing dialogue with national and European policymakers. Atlantic Cities plays an essential role in promoting Atlantic culture and the natural richness and heritage of the area, while drawing attention to vulnerability to the consequences of climate change. Atlantic Cities advocates for the creation of an Atlantic Rail Network (TEN-T) through the creation of an Atlantic macro-region involving all Atlantic Arc cities. In addition, Atlantic Cities member regularly come together to co-sign policy declarations in events of the European Year, such as the San Sebastián Declaration on Climate Change in 2022, or the Biarritz Declaration against desertification in 2023.

Through these joint declarations, the cities acknowledge their role in such phenomena, and make a case for more consideration of the cities' experience in the decision-making process.