The eAtlantic Foundation and the CRUSOE network sign a memorandum in Santander to strengthen cooperation on Europe’s Atlantic coast

La Fundación eAtlantic y la red CRUSOE sellan en Santander un memorando para reforzar la cooperación en la fachada atlántica europea

The eAtlantic Foundation and the CRUSOE network sign a memorandum in Santander to strengthen cooperation on Europe’s Atlantic coast

October 08, 2025 eAtlantic Comments Off

• The executive president of the eAtlantic Foundation, Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu, and the president of the CRUSOE network of rectors, Concepción López Fernández, agree to join forces to strengthen Europe’s Atlantic coast

• The document provides for the creation of a monitoring committee and will be valid for an initial three years

The eAtlantic Foundation, represented by its executive president, Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu Renteria, and the CRUSOE Network – Conference of Rectors of the Universities of Southwestern Europe, headed by its president Concepción López Fernández, have signed today in Santander a Memorandum of Understanding that sets out the framework of cooperation between both entities.

The signed document recalls that the eAtlantic Foundation is a non-profit organization established and governed by Law 9/2016, of June 2, on Foundations of the Basque Country. Among its founding purposes is the promotion of understanding between public and private stakeholders on the European Atlantic coast to ensure its future prosperity, promoting Sustainable Human Development, and competitiveness in technological, industrial, and human capital. Likewise, eAtlantic aims to foster institutional participation closer to citizens in the governance of the European Union.

The CRUSOE Network, for its part, is a non-profit association comprised of 29 universities and polytechnic institutes from Galicia, Castile and León, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Northern and Central Regions of Portugal. Its objectives include promoting the quality of higher education, research, innovation, and the dissemination of science and culture; fostering cooperation between academic institutions and with social actors; consolidating their social outreach; defending university autonomy; and promoting internationalization. After the signing, Iñigo Urkullu stated: “We share with CRUSOE the conviction that we must move into action to reverse the growing peripherality of the European Atlantic façade, and we share the desire to be drivers of territorial development.” In turn, he added that this collaboration agreement is a commitment to “generate networked development in knowledge, research, and innovation in the service of transformative initiatives for an Atlantic axis advancing toward Sustainable Human Development.”

A context of challenges and opportunities

The memorandum confirms that both entities share the same diagnosis. Specifically, they agree that the peripherality of the European Atlantic façade is increasing as the EU’s axis of influence shifts eastward, and that enlargement toward the Balkans and Ukraine could accelerate this trend. The Atlantic region faces deficits that hinder its full participation in the European Single Market—particularly in terms of interconnections—but it also offers opportunities for strengthened cooperation.

In light of this, both entities share the goal of working for the prosperity of the European Atlantic façade, promoting its sustainable human development, and ensuring its full integration within the European Union. More specifically, they emphasize their commitment to contributing to territorial development and smart specialization through knowledge, research, and innovation, recognizing that networked collaboration is essential to enhance the impact of their initiatives.

With the signing of this Memorandum of Collaboration, eAtlantic Foundation and CRUSOE aim to contribute to a strategic objective: bringing together the educational community around an Atlantic University solidly rooted in the territory, operating as a network and maintaining strong transatlantic ties.

Modes of Cooperation

The agreement also outlines various forms of collaboration, including:

• Sharing information on action plans and research to seek synergies and avoid duplication.

• Providing mutual assistance in identifying researchers and specialized centers along the Atlantic facade.

• Offering reciprocal support for initiatives, forums, and seminars, promoting their dissemination and participation.

• Defining joint applied research projects that strengthen the prosperity of the Atlantic façade and support the creation of the Atlantic University, exploring funding opportunities—particularly from the European Union.

• Any other form of cooperation that the parties deem necessary.

Monitoring Committee and Duration

A Monitoring Committee, composed of two representatives from each party, will be responsible for evaluating the progress of the collaboration and proposing new initiatives.

This collaboration, signed this Wednesday, will have an initial duration of three years.