An agreement between 175 municipalities in Tras-os-Montes, Beira Interior and Douro on the Portuguese side, and the regions of Salamanca and Zamora on the Spanish side have teamed up in a rare example of cooperation to create a European Grouping for Cooperation in the Territory of the Douro-Duero (Agrupamento Europeu de Cooperação Territorial Douro-Duero,) or AECT for short.
This organisation was formalised in April in Madrid by submitting the minutes of the meetings from 175 Portuguese municipalities. The document is now to be signed and ratified by the Spanish government, and of course will be run from the Spanish side of the border.
This is the first European grouping between Portugal and Spain, and one that joins the areas along the river Douro with the aim of 'implementing European policy.' The Portuguese and Spanish will work together for the economic and social cohesion of the territory, and forget any old animosities built up over the millennia.
The AECT is a new system available for those who want to club together and the new body will have proper legal status when it comes to applying for development grants form the EU. The challenge is to develop territorial clusters that will act as mini-states with direct access to Brussels for funding.
Municipalities on both sides of the border agreed to set up the centre for 'Douro-Duero' in Trabanca, a municipality in the province of Salamanca. Spain therefore will be the country responsible for the control and compliance with current legislation from the European Commission.
What’s in it for us? Apparently, citizens will benefit from the creation of this new body in terms of territorial development grants and, more ominously, the implementation of European policy in smaller towns.
