The Eurociudad Vasca Bayonne-San Sebastián ( French: ''Eurocité basque Bayonne-Saint-Sébastien''; Basque: ''Baiona-Donostia Euskal Eurohiria'') is the name given to the urban cross-border region located between

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

along the coast of the

Cantabrian Sea The Cantabrian Sea; french: Mer Cantabrique, gl, Mar Cantábrico, ast, Mar Cantábricu, eu, Kantauri. is the term used mostly in Spain to describe the coastal sea of the Atlantic Ocean that borders the northern coast of Spain and the southwest ...

in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. Given the progressive European integration and the disappearance of internal borders in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, as of

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

various local institutions on both sides of the border created cross-border cooperation agreements that have led to the creation of a cross-border city project that brings together 42 local entities, both Spanish and French. This project covers the realization of common projects (

synergies Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together". History In Christian ...

in the tourism sector, freight transport, use of common infrastructures, etc.). The consortium that directs the project has the legal entity of a European economic interest group (''Groupement européen d'intérêt économique''). In the future it could become a

eurodistrict A eurodistrict is a European administrative entity that contains urban agglomerations which lie across the border between two or more states. A eurodistrict offers a program for cooperation and integration of the towns or communes which it compr ...

. The project is based on the existence of a real urban region that crosses the border, on the existence of synergies and complementarities between both sides of the border and on the existence of a common

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

cultural base. The three official languages of the institution are

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, French and

Description

The Basque Eurocity stretches linearly for just over 50 km along the Basque Coast. On the one hand, it encompasses the coastal region of the French department of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques (''Côte Basque''), between the mouth of the Adur River and the

Bidasoa __NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the p ...

River. It is a relatively flat and traditionally tourism-oriented region, heavily urbanized, but with a relatively low population density, since a large part of the homes are single-family homes, second homes or are tourism-oriented. On the other side of the Bidasoa river, the Eurocity extends through the Gipuzkoan regions of Bajo Bidasoa,

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

region and part of Urola-Costa, reaching the town of

Guetaria Getaria is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the North of Spain. This coastal village is located on the Urola Coast, with Zarautz to the east and Zumaia to the west. Getaria i ...

at one end. The Spanish part is geographically more rugged than the French, being therefore less urbanized, but it has a different urban typology, with locations with a higher population density and a more industrial character; so it has a larger population. The two poles of the Eurocity are the city of

, on the one hand, and the BAB District (

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

- Anglet-

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

) on the other. At its central axis are the towns of

Fuenterrabía es, fuenterribense , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , ti ...

Irún Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Sp ...

and Hendaya, which have further deepened cross-border relations with the Bidasoa-Txingudi Consortium.

Localities that comprise it

The Eurocity has approximately 620,000 inhabitants divided into 42 local entities. * 25

French communes The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equi ...

, all of them belonging to the Department of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques and the Basque-French Country (historical province of Labort): * 17 Spanish municipalities, all of them belonging to the

Province of Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

(

Autonomous Community of the Basque Country The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

History

On January 18, 1993, Henri Grenet, president of the Bayona-Anglet-Biarriz District, and Eli Galdos, deputy general of the Guipúzcoa Provincial Council, signed a cross-border cooperation agreement that would be the germ of the Basque Eurocity.Genesis
. ''Eurociudad.org''. Retrieved March 14, 2020. In 1997 the Bayona-San Sebastián cross-border observatory was created by the Provincial Council of Guipúzcoa and the Bayona-Anglet-Biarritz District (converted into the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz agglomeration community),Barbería, José Luis (February 25, 1997).
San Sebastián and Bayonne lay the foundations for a 'Eurocity'
. ''El País''. Retrieved March 14, 2020. under the legal form of an Association European Economic Interest. In 2001, the Bidasoa-Txingudi Consortium, which brought together the municipalities of

and Hendaya, joined the Eurocity.

References

External links

Official site

Basque Eurocity on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Eurocity Bayona-San Sebastian Pyrénées-Atlantiques Gipuzkoa