The lehendakari, Inigo Urkullutravels to Madrid today to hold meetings with the ambassadors of France and Portugal in order to address the interconnections of the Atlantic Arc.

Iñigo Urkullu attends these two meetings accompanied by the General Secretary for Foreign Affairs, mariana elorza, as reported by Lehendakaritza. The first meeting is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. with the French ambassador Jean-Michel Houseand the second appointment will be at 5:00 p.m. with the ambassador of Portugal, Joao Mira-Gomes. In both cases, the meetings will be held in the embassies of these states.

The Basque Government already announced after the Assembly of the Euroregionintegrated by Euskadi, Navarre and New Aquitaineheld last March 20who planned to address the French ambassador in Spain, as well as the European Commissioner for Transport, as part of the efforts to promote the interconnections of the Atlantic axis.

Previously, the past March 13Urkullu had held a meeting in Vitoria-Gasteiz with the Presidents of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria, in which they promised to promote a ‘lobby’ or pressure group to defend the interests of these territories before the European Union in matters such as rail connections and energy. To that end, they announced that they would request that the EU recognize them as Atlantic Macroregion.

The Lehendakar will transfer the request that the French Government comply with the deadlines for the arrival of high speed rail to Daxfollowing the French government’s announcement of delay it from 2030 to 2042.

The lehendakari has shown publicly on different occasions his discomfort with France’s position warning that a matter like this “cannot be exposed to so many changes and so much improvisation”, for which he has accused the French and Spanish states of “failing to meet their commitments”, which, in his opinion, conditions the policies of the Atlantic communities in a very negative way.

In addition to the French and Portuguese ambassadors, Urkullu has already met with the Chief Minister of Wales, Mark Drakefordin an appointment in which they ratified the Basque and Welsh commitment to the Atlantic Macroregion project.

A next meeting with the Lehendakari remains pending, this time with the European Union Commissioner for Transport, adina valeanto transfer the same request.

Source: Eitb

Alia

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