President of the Government participated in meeting of the Permanent Bilateral Commission
The President of the Government participated today in the meeting of the Permanent Bilateral Commission (CBP) in Lisbon as part of the Regional Government's close monitoring of environmental issues related to the U.S. military presence at Lajes Base.
At the 42nd meeting of this body, established under the Cooperation and Defence Agreement between Portugal and the United States, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that, despite the work already done in terms of environmental matters, there is still a long way to go before the full and definitive resolution of the problems identified.
According to the President of the Regional Government, it is essential to "strengthen information and transparency in this area in order to safeguard the confidence and respect of Terceira and Azorean citizens as well as of the Azores in the bilateral relations between Portugal and the United States."
At this meeting - the 11th in which he participates since the USA announced the reduction of its military and civilian forces at Terceira's air base in 2012 -, Vasco Cordeiro welcomed the discussion of a roadmap on the works to be developed by the USA in some of the locations identified and the setting of a timetable for these works, which will be monitored by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC).
However, the President of the Government stressed that this roadmap should have a practical application so that it can effectively address and solve outstanding environmental issues.
At the CBP meeting, the Regional Government also requested exceptional measures to be taken by the USA to exempt dairy producers and exporters, following the raise of U.S. tariffs on EU products since October 18, as well as the development of joint actions to strengthen tourism promotion of the Azores destination in that country.
The Regional Government also considered the recent election of a new Representative Commission of Portuguese Workers at Lajes Air Base as an opportunity to definitely move forward with the resolution of issues concerning the existence of a Hygiene and Safety at Work Programme that will cover all Lajes workers as well as the right to parenthood and temporary employment.