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Since the 1980s, cross-frontier cooperation agreements in Europe have been multiplying. In this article, we argue that the regional modifications brought about by cross-frontier cooperation not only affect political administrative structures but also favour changes in notions of identity amongst local inhabitants. Frontier areas serve as "laboratories" enabling the study of these changes in a specific space and time frame. Our study is based on research carried out between 2000 and 2003 in Hendaye (France), Irun and Fontarabia (Spain). These three towns, separated by the river Bidasoa which here forms the Franco-Spanish frontier in the Basque Country, and located around the bay of Txingudi, are linked since 1993 by a cross-frontier agreement initiated by their respective municipalities called the Consorcio Bidasoa-Txingudi, In spite of the Consorcio’s discourse however, this rapprochement has not yet had a significant impact on traditional identifications amongst the local population. At present, a mere European gloss has emerged, which camouflages more complex notions of identity linked to the particular political and cultural character of the Basque Country, as well as localist attachments.