The Conference of Atlantic Arc Cooperation was set up in July 2000 in Rennes (France). Today it brings together 34 members within the five countries of the Atlantic area. It promotes:

• The maritime vocation of Europe;
• A European and Atlantic urban model;
• A balanced and polycentric development for Europe;
• International opening and cooperation amongst cities.

The members of the network can be cities over 100,000 inhabitants or urban networks of towns.

Why an Atlantic Urban Network?
There is no single urban model of development within the Atlantic area. The cities are diverse and have developed at different times and often according to very different patterns.

Nevertheless, the Atlantic cities face common difficulties and challenges. Furthermore, the Atlantic area has many advantages that should be taken into account by cities in order to reinforce a sustainable development of their own territory and of the Atlantic area in general.

The Conference was created by members eager to develop an area of solidarity and projects, who have decided to promote their synergies, develop a series of new cooperation programmes in fields of mutual interest and increase their political weight at the European level.

The framework of the Conference
An enlarged Union: the arrival of new members is to be considered not as a risk for the Atlantic area, but as an opportunity.

A major role for the urban community: 80 % of Europe's population lives in cities, it is necessary that the cities have a major role in the European Union to guarantee that their inhabitants and their needs are borne in mind.

The European Spatial Development Perspective, adopted in 1999, reflects the need to ensure the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the European Union. An active participation of the cities is essential to make the ESDP a reality.

The activities
A strategic approach is:

• participation in the work undertaken to apply the principles of the ESDP to the Atlantic area;
• promotion of the importance of the role of the Atlantic cities for a balanced development of Europe and of its Atlantic seaboard before national and international authorities;
• participation in the European debates such as European governance, future European cohesion policy, territorial dialogue, etc.
• and the projects.

In the framework of the Conference, five Thematic Commissions have been setup:

• Accessibility and Sustainable Development Commission
• Culture and Heritage Commission
• Economic Development Commission
• Ports Cities Commission
• Urban Development Commission

Each commission discusses and analyses its specific topic and formulates a series of action proposals to be developed by the members.

For example, two C.A.A.C. projects have recently been approved within the framework of the Interreg III-B programme: one concerning Atlantic industrial areas, and another contemplating the creation of an Atlantic cultural observatory and the organisation of cultural action seminars. Different studies have already been undertaken within the commissions.

Strengthening Atlantic urban cooperation.
An essential step towards developing an Atlantic urban project is to deepen mutual knowledge of the different Atlantic urban realities. A better knowledge of the wide-ranging nature of these realities and the priorities of each city should allow members to cooperate in a more structured way.

Within this framework the Conference is preparing different instruments designed to strengthen cooperation between its cities. These include an interactive urban directory, database records for each member, a presentation of the urban institutional systems in the five Atlantic Arc States and interactive thematic sections on the internet.

The Interlocutors
The conference acts in complementarity with the actions led by other actors in the Atlantic area as well as with other urban actors and the European institutions, to their mutual advantage and for the major benefit of the citizens.

Decision-making bodies
The General Assembly brings together all the members of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities. It defines the orientations of the Conference and decides, through its resolutions, on the actions to be undertaken by the organisation. It convenes every year.

The Executive Bureau is elected by the General Assembly for a period of two years. It includes the presidents of the various thematic commissions. It directs the conference, ensures that the resolutions made by the General Assembly are followed through and coordinates the work of the thematic commissions.

The General Secretariat is in charge of the smooth operation of the Conference. It is based in Rennes.

The newly elected President of the Conference is Ms Paz Fernandez Felgueroso, Mayor of Gijon (Spain) and member of the Committee of the Regions.