The Organyà special economic zone project continues to advance and has already allowed the first to be identified business sectors with potential to implement activity there. The ambassador for cross-border cooperation, Noëlia Souque, pointed out during the presentation of the book ‘Cross-border cooperation in Europe of the 21st century’ at the University of Andorra which, after a first contact with the Andorran business fabric, have been particularly detected opportunities for the transport and construction sectors, as well as for some small productive industries in the country.
“We have identified some specific sector, obviously the transport sector, but also the construction sector”, he pointed out Souque, who has pointed out that there could also be interest from companies linked to “top products” than currently they have limitations to grow within the Andorran territory. As he has justified, the lack of available space in the Principality makes it difficult to set up industrial buildings or production centers, which could lead certain companies to establish part of their activity in the neighboring territory.
The ambassador has assured that there is interest on the part of Andorran companies to explore this option, especially among those who cannot develop productive activity in the country “due to the geographical realities of the Principality”. However, he noted that the project is still in one “very preliminary” phase and that, at the moment, only “a little bit of this table tour of the sectors” has been done.
Souque has detailed that Andorra and the Generalitat de Catalunya they work together in the definition of the project through a working group specific in charge of analyzing technical issues, including those linked to the tax regime. In this sense, he has revealed that he has also worked an initial tax proposal together with Andorran companies, which must serve as a “starting point” for the negotiations with Catalonia.
Despite the interest detected, the ambassador has avoided setting deadlines and has warned that it is of a “long haul” projectsince it will require the coordination of multiple institutional actors and will have to fit with the competence frameworks of Spain and France, especially in fiscal matters. “At the moment we are starting the bilateral work”, he summarized.
