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In the early afternoon, Pedro Sánchez was the first to take stock of the meeting with António Costa. The President of the Spanish Government assured journalists that the joint economic recovery strategy for the cross-border region “is not an abstract strategy”.
“Progress is being made with a common governance system, with concrete measures, and I think this is especially important in the Raian territories,” declared the head of the Government of Spain, adding that Spain is “very expectant with this recovery plan, as is Portugal.”
“I want to underline the total alignment that the recovery plan has with the plan presented by the Spanish Government” and that it also has ecological and digital transition objectives and social and territorial cohesion, as well as a perspective to combat this pandemic, said Sánchez. .
Regarding the cross-border development strategy, the leader said it was “A political strategy with a very clear objective and with equal opportunities not only for people, but also for territories.”
For Sánchez, this summit was also important to respond to the pandemic crisis. “First of all, because Europe has to offer a common response to a common problem, which is the pandemic. We are doing it with the health emergency plan, for example, and in the negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies ”to acquire the vaccine that he said he hoped would arrive as soon as possible.
“Finally, we plan many other areas of cooperation, such as agri-food, territorial, cultural and the strengthening of the common heritage that we have, which is linguistic ”, he advanced.
The statements of António Costa followed, who said that he wanted the cross-border region “It is not a point of separation but, on the contrary, a point of unity between our peoples”.
“This cross-border development strategy is a strategy that we are going to develop together in the coming years and that has several dimensions,” explained the Portuguese Prime Minister to journalists in Guarda.
“The first and most important has to do with or make life easier for the people who live on this side and on the other side of the border, through the condition of cross-border worker, through the delivery of a health card that allows them to be treated here or there from the border.
The second fundamental dimension is that of “cooperation between our public services”, that is, what was agreed for the 112 network, beginning to respond in the emergency “who is in the best proximity to do so”, whether it is a Spanish ambulance , or Portuguese.
There is also a dimension to the development of common projects “that must have the ambition to reach an agreement with European priorities”, particularly in terms of the digital transition, Costa said.
The heads of government of Portugal and Spain ruled out this Saturday the possibility of a new border closure, highlighting the need for greater individual responsibility in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, said that it is not justified to close the borders and defended, in the final conference of the Spanish-Portuguese Summit, that what is currently required is “more individual responsibility.”
“We do not contemplate closing borders at all,” said the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, clarifying that the measures to be taken will be jointly with Portugal and the rest of the member states of the European Union.
Measures for the cross-border region
The creation of the figure of the cross-border worker and a single circulation document to harmonize the passage of minors between Portugal and Spain are two planned measures.
“If we had already defined what a cross-border worker is, many of the people who live on one side of the border and who work on the other side of the border would make the transition much easier even in times of pandemic,” explained Ana Abrunhosa, Minister of Territorial Cohesion.
The Covid-19 pandemic, in fact, exposed the weaknesses that are often felt in cross-border territories. The closing of the borders paralyzed the lives of many workers who crossed every day. The figure of the cross-border worker is expected to become a reality by the end of next year.
The two countries also want to share health services and create a medical and social identification card for cross-border users.
“For a person who lives in Vilar Formoso, today it is still not possible to go to the hospital in Ciudad Rodrigo or Salamanca. We want it to be possible soon, but for that we have to have an information system that communicates, ”said Ana Abrunhosa.
Still in the health area, It is anticipated that it will become the closest ambulance and provide assistance in Raian territory., whether the ambulance is Portuguese or Spanish.
In terms of education and forest protection, changes are also expected. The plan is to create bilingual schools and an Iberian Center for Research and Fighting Forest Fires.
To facilitate travel, Small sections will be opened along the border that will allow direct connection between cities in the two countries., as between Vilar Formoso and Fuentes de Oñoro.
In addition to presenting the final document with the approved measures, António Costa and Pedro Sánchez will also be present, at the end of the afternoon, in an event where a study will be presented on “The international projection of Spanish and Portuguese: the potential of proximity linguistics”.
The place where the Luso-Spanish Summit took place was the scene of demonstrations by environmentalists and unions. The Iberian anti-nuclear movement was one of those that was represented in Guarda, with Portuguese and Spanish activists. Almaraz was the main target of the protests.
“Almaraz must close, because ten years ago it should have closed and they want to extend it for another eight years. But we are also here for Retortillo (…), a uranium mine 30 kilometers from the border that fortunately is closed, but which can be a danger, ”José Janela, from the anti-nuclear platform, explained to the RTP report.
