The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, Rodrigo Oliveira, will represent the Government of the Azores at the plenary meeting of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union that takes place this week in Brussels.

The agenda of the 109th session of the CoR will address various topics, including the analysis and voting of the reports on themes "Innovation in the blue economy: realising the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth" and the "Sixth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion." Moreover, the meeting will also address the European Neighbourhood policy, the Europe of Citizens, health systems and European industrial policies.

The Committee of the Regions is an advisory body of the European institutions representing EU regional and local bodies. It currently comprises 353 members from 28 Member States.

Its primary mission is to issue recommendations on current political matters and legislative proposals involving regional and local authorities, such as those related to economic and social cohesion, employment and vocational training, education and culture, health and social policies, environment and climate change, among others. These reports are issued whenever a European institution consults this body or when the Committee itself considers that certain regional interests are called into question.

Under its powers, the Committee of the Regions has recently approved, by large majority, the report drafted by the President of the Azorean Government on the European Strategy for Coastal and Maritime Tourism. It recommended the European Commission to adopt a series of measures intended to boost employment creation and wealth generation in this area of the Regions' tourism sector.

The Autonomous Region of the Azores holds a seat at the CoR since its inception, being represented at the Commission for Natural Resources and the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy by the President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro, and the Regional Under Secretary for European Affairs, Rodrigo Oliveira, as alternate member.