Brussels, 15 October 2025 – Archam, the alliance bringing together the Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc, held a forum in Brussels aimed at presenting to European institutions the progress and actions undertaken to promote the creation of an Atlantic Macro-Region. This meeting also served to strengthen cooperation among Atlantic territories, represented by their business and institutional organisations, and to highlight shared interests that contribute to the joint development of this space.
Aware of the strategic role they play as entities that defend general interests and promote territorial competitiveness, sixteen Chambers of Commerce grouped under the Archam alliance seek to gather support and backing from institutions and businesses for this initiative. Among the priority topics addressed were the creation of the Atlantic Arc Macro-Region, infrastructure development, the promotion of green hydrogen, offshore wind energy, and sustainable tourism.
The meeting brought together the Chambers of Commerce of Bilbao, Oviedo, Gipuzkoa, Santiago de Compostela, Cantabria, Avilés, Gijón, Pontevedra, Vigo and Vilagarcía de Arousa, Tui and A Coruña, as well as the Spanish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, representatives of the Government of Spain, the Basque Government, the Government of Cantabria, the Government of Asturias, the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), and the Delegation to the EU of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
The first day, held on Monday 13 October, took place at the Delegation of the Presidency of the Atlantic Arc Commission of the CPMR and began with a technical meeting in which the status of ongoing projects, the planning of new actions, and the update of the alliance’s five major challenges were analysed: connectivity and influence, diversification and entrepreneurship, sustainability and innovation, demographic challenges, and talent attraction.
Following the institutional welcome by José Ignacio Zudaire, President of the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, a working session focused on the evolution of the Alliance was held. During her intervention, Marta Marín, Delegate of the Basque Country to the European Union, outlined the progress made towards the establishment of the Atlantic Macro-Region, a proposal that currently brings together territories from France, Spain, and Portugal, and which seeks in the future to incorporate regions from Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Canada in order to strengthen cooperation and the international projection of the Atlantic area.
The meeting concluded with the presentation of the main conclusions and commitments, and featured the participation of José Antonio Sebastián, Commissioner for the Atlantic Corridor of the Government of Spain; Jonás Fernández, Member of the European Parliament; and a prominent delegation from the Government of Asturias, including Alejandro Jesús Calvo, Minister for Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management; Jorge García, Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility; and Nuria Castaño, Deputy Director-General for Regional Strategy and Investment Attraction.
The second day, held on Tuesday 14 October, began with a breakfast at the European Parliament moderated by MEPs Oihane Agirregoitia and Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew Europe Group). Participants included Sandro Gozi, Secretary-General of the European Democratic Party; Fernando Sampedro Marcos, Secretary of State for European Affairs of the Government of Spain; and Ander Caballero, Secretary-General for External Action and Euskadi Global of the Basque Government and representative of the Presidency of the Atlantic Arc Commission.
This was followed by contributions from António Cunha, President of the Northern Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Norte); Mikel Arieta-Araunabeña Bustinza, Secretary-General of the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce; and Tom Schumacher, Development Officer at the Baltic Sea Strategy Point, who shared their perspectives on the Atlantic environment. Anders Bergström, Coordinator of the Education Area of the Baltic Sea Region Strategy, presented experiences from the Baltic Macro-Region. A debate then took place with MEPs Paulo do Nascimento Cabral (EPP, Portugal) and Marcos Ros Sempere (S&D, Spain and S&D coordinator in REGI). The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, closed the session by presenting the conclusions of the meeting.
To conclude the programme, a session was held at the Delegation to the EU of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce focused on the evolution of the Atlantic Arc Chambers Alliance, along with two roundtables moderated by José Antonio Calvo (Acorde Consulting), addressing key issues for the future of the region.
The first roundtable, “Development of the Atlantic Corridor,” featured José Antonio Sebastián Ruiz, Commissioner for the Atlantic Corridor; Alejandro Jesús Calvo Rodríguez, Minister for Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management of the Principality of Asturias; and Élise Wattrelot, Executive Secretary of the Atlantic Arc Commission of the CPMR.
The second roundtable, “The Atlantic Macro-Region,” brought together Dr. Tom Schumacher, Development Officer at the Baltic Sea Strategy Point (BSP); Juan Francisco Hernández Alfaro, Counsellor for Territorial Policy, General Affairs and the European Parliament at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU; Inmaculada Valencia, Director of the Cantabria Government Office in Brussels; and Mikel Antón, Director of European Affairs of the Basque Government.
With this meeting, the Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc reaffirm their commitment to uniting European Atlantic regions and their willingness to continue working on matters of common interest that strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability, and integration of Atlantic regions.
The press release issued by the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce is available at the following link.