At its meeting in Brussels on 18 and 19 December, the European Council invited the European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to develop an EU macro-regional strategy for the Atlantic by June 2027, taking into account the existing Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic and the Atlantic Action Plan.
Several macro-regional strategies of this type are already in place, for the Baltic Sea (2009), the Danube (2011), the Alps (2015) and the Adriatic-Ionian (2014).
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) has welcomed this decision. Its ‘Atlantic Arc Commission’, which has been active since 2018, has argued for the creation of this macro-region. “The CPMR is proud to have been a driving force behind this achievement, which will benefit not only the Atlantic Area, but Europe as a whole and our relations with transatlantic partners”, said Filip Reinhag, President of the CPMR and Regional Councillor for Gotland. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)