SIX EUROPEAN PROJECTS WILL REVITALIZE AND TRANSFORM THE CROSS-BORDER REGION UNTIL 2029
Working, studying, or moving across the border will become easier in the coming years thanks to the launch of the six European projects presented last Friday at FICOBA. With a total investment of €23 million, these initiatives will directly impact employment, mobility, and multilingualism, strengthening cross-border cooperation between Euskadi, Navarra, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The FICOBA auditorium at the cross-border city of Irún hosted the launch event for six strategic European projects on Friday, January 30th, which will mark a turning point in cross-border cooperation between Euskadi, Navarra, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Within the framework of the Western Functional Area (AFOMEF), the initiatives LANEAN, HEZHI, MUGAZIKLO, TRANSFERMUGI, EUSGUNEAK, and SAREBIDE will drive concrete actions in employment, mobility, and multilingualism, directly affecting citizens’ daily lives through 2029.
Mathieu Bergé highlighted: “We are Europe around the corner.”
The projects represent an investment of nearly €23 million in the cross-border region, of which €14.8 million comes from EU ERDF funds via the INTERREG POCTEFA program. Their goal is clear: to address common regional challenges and bring tangible European action to citizens by removing obstacles, reducing the so-called “border effect,” and strengthening social and territorial cohesion.
The event brought together over 140 participants, including institutional representatives from AFOMEF governance, POCTEFA program officials, European Commission experts, technical teams leading and implementing the projects, local entities, and key actors in cross-border cooperation. The day highlighted exemplary collaboration aligned with European priorities in sustainable development, territorial cohesion, and regional integration.
In the words of Valeria Cenacchi, POCTEFA responsible at the European Commission | DG REGIO: "These projects, selected within the Western Functional Area for cooperation in mobility, employment, and multilingualism, will reinforce each other, thereby fostering local attractiveness, resilience, and territorial cohesion. Ultimately, they will contribute to shaping European citizenship at the local level."
With this launch, the Euroregion Nouvelle-Aquitaine Euskadi Navarra, organizer of the event and coordinator of AFOMEF, reaffirms its commitment to an innovative cooperation model: concrete initiatives rooted in the territory, designed to tackle real challenges faced by citizens and to build a closer, more cohesive Europe from the local level.
As Ana Ollo stated: “This is the first time in INTERREG POCTEFA’s history that the program has enabled ERDF funds to be territorialized to act in smaller areas, or what we call ‘life basins,’ generating visible impact in the daily lives of cross-border citizens”.
Six projects proving that cooperation transforms territories.The six projects demonstrate that cooperation is an effective way to transform the territory through an innovative cross-border approach with tangible results. Beyond administrative borders, these initiatives address common challenges through practical, citizen-focused collaboration aimed at producing measurable impact.
Arola Urdangarin emphasized: “AFOMEF shows that Europe can be concrete, useful, and close to its citizens. The projects presented today are a clear example of cooperation and joint action.
See the full presentation of the event in the following document:
