The Government of Catalonia and the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS) have signed a landmark agreement on cross-border cooperation in health emergencies, which will enable the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques (SEM) and the Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente (SAMU) to work together on both sides of the border.
Although the agreement is not formally part of the SA-URG project, the collaborative work carried out over the years by its partners has been key to creating an environment of trust, technical coordination, and strategic alignment that has made the signing of this agreement possible—one of the project’s main objectives.
The agreement was signed in the fourth quarter of 2025 and represents a decisive step toward providing a faster, more efficient, and better-coordinated response to emergencies in the Pyrenean region.
The territorial scope of the agreement covers:
- the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, especially the areas of the Catalan Pyrenees and bordering regions;
- the Occitania Region, particularly the departments bordering Catalonia.
The main objective The agreement prioritizes patient care over administrative borders, enabling the closest and most appropriate healthcare resource to intervene, regardless of the country in which the emergency occurs. Within this framework, the intervention of emergency services (SEM and SAMU) is authorized in the Pyrenean cross-border areas when they are the most suitable resource to attend to an emergency.
Among the key steps and measures outlined in the agreement are the creation of joint technical protocols, the use of shared mapping, direct and secure communication between the SEM and SAMU coordination centers, as well as training and joint drills. In addition, a joint monitoring committee is established to evaluate the results and improve the agreement’s implementation.
With an initial term of four years, subject to renewal, this agreement strengthens emergency healthcare services along the entire Catalonia–Occitanie border and lays the groundwork for a cooperation model that can be replicated in other regions.