Northern Basque Country Economy :

An increasing transfrontier co-operation

This webpage summarises some articles published in the french economic newspaper les Echos on 10/25/1999.

Since northern and southern basque have common origins and culture, economic relations between both part of the Basque Country are old. Even if Franco's dictatorship had created a gap between these parts, Spain's come back to democracy and its integration in European Union stimulated them again. Economic co-operation have even made a new step when France and Spain signed the Bayonne treaty, on march 10th 1995. In this treaty, french and spanish governments recognised to towns and cities specific rights to directly participate in co-operative structures in the neighbouring country, or to create and gather in new common co-operative structures. That's what Hendaye, Irun and Hondaribia did in gathering in a consorcio (spanish form of co-operative structure).

On the same way, french and spanish coastal town and villages between Bayonne and San Sebastian gathered themselves in the Bayonne-San Sebastian Basque Eurocity. Day after day, a continuous agglomeration, from Bayonne to San Sebastian, is being constituted, which gathered more than 600 000 inhabitants in 1999, and where 80% of Northern Basque Country inhabitants lived. This Eurocity allow them to bring common efforts in solving their common problems :

international traffic management. From its geographic situation, the Bayonne-San Sebastian axis is a critical transit pathway between Northern Europe on one hand, Iberian peninsula and North Africa on the other hand. The traffic has thus been multiplied by 3.5 in 10 years, bringing to the Basque Country an increasing amount of lorries. And local needs for equipment and infrastructures are sometimes in conflict with the international traffic needs. Thus, local attempts in fluidising the traffic by setting up a rail-road transportation infrastructures have failed. And no co-operation between the french and spanish ports of Bayonne and Pasajes or between Biarritz and Hondarribia airports has been successfully established. The only co-operation that have been successful is the one set up by SNCF (the french governmental railway transport company) and the basque railway company for passengers transportation one hand end, and the RENFE (the spanish governmental railway company) to manage the goods traffic, on the other hand. RENFE and SNCF have thus created a common managing centre, based in Irun.

territory's administration. On both sides of the border;, basque coast public services have to cope with a high tourist flux, which multiply the population by 10. Between 1990 and 1999, Northern Basque Country population increased by 12182 people, reaching 261 823. This increase mainly took place in coastal area : the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz agglomeration reached 175 000 inhabitants, the two third of northern Basque Country population. This phenomena also occurs in San Sebastian suburbs and in the Bayonne employment area, which now reach Dax. To cope with this population increase, an urban plan has been set up from the border to Hossegor and Cambo les Bains.

environmental protection : waste treatment and coast protection.

An equilibrium intermediate pole, in the middle of Aquitaine-Navarra-Euskadi Euroregion , which extend from Bordeaux to Bilbo, has been created. And to strengthen this co-operation, the northern Basque Country's elects ask for the creation of a separated departement with autonomous decision powers.
Because, in spite of the co-operation, the northern economical development is relying on a weak base. Mainly constituted by small companies, the industrial sector is weak (it represents 17.9% of economical activity) and services are overdeveloped (80% of the activity). Thus, amongst the 10025 companies present in Northern Basque Country, 3781 (37.7%) are trade business companies, 1586 (15.8%) are working in hostelry and restorative activities et 1445 (14.4%) in estate activity. Moreover, the most important plants highly depends on external decision centres : amongst the 33 plants with more than 50 employees, only 7 have their decision centre in the Basque Country.
Guipuzcoa's companies, such as Fagor, take profit from this situation to build a plant or to buy local small companies, so as to take root in the french marketplace. Guipuzcoa has a long manufacturing tradition and a very diversified industry : it gets 42% of its incomes from the industrial sector and 50% from services.

	*international traffic management.* From its geographic situation, the Bayonne-San Sebastian axis is a critical transit pathway between Northern Europe on one hand, Iberian peninsula and North Africa on the other hand. The traffic has thus been multiplied by 3.5 in 10 years, bringing to the Basque Country an increasing amount of lorries. And local needs for equipment and infrastructures are sometimes in conflict with the international traffic needs. Thus, local attempts in fluidising the traffic by setting up a rail-road transportation infrastructures have failed. And no co-operation between the french and spanish ports of Bayonne and Pasajes or between Biarritz and Hondarribia airports has been successfully established. The only co-operation that have been successful is the one set up by SNCF (the french governmental railway transport company) and the basque railway company for passengers transportation one hand end, and the RENFE (the spanish governmental railway company) to manage the goods traffic, on the other hand. RENFE and SNCF have thus created a common managing centre, based in Irun.
	*territory's administration*. On both sides of the border;, basque coast public services have to cope with a high tourist flux, which multiply the population by 10. Between 1990 and 1999, Northern Basque Country population increased by 12182 people, reaching 261 823. This increase mainly took place in coastal area : the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz agglomeration reached 175 000 inhabitants, the two third of northern Basque Country population. This phenomena also occurs in San Sebastian suburbs and in the Bayonne employment area, which now reach Dax. To cope with this population increase, an urban plan has been set up from the border to Hossegor and Cambo les Bains.
	*environmental protection* : waste treatment and coast protection.