The President of the Government defended in Malta that "the principle of territorial cohesion remains the foundation of Europe", stressing that "Regions are the backbone of economic development, employment creation and growth throughout the continent."
 
For Vasco Cordeiro, who spoke Friday at the meeting of the Political Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), an organisation which he chairs since September 2014, "the Cohesion Policy is vital for economic growth in all European territories." In this context, he defended the "reinforcement of responses to challenges the European Union faces."
 
The President of the Government spoke at the opening of the meeting, alluding to the debates on the future of the EU budget and the Cohesion Policy. He stated that "the voice of regions has to be heard" before the European Commission starts discussing its ideas for the period post 2020, which should take place during the next summer.
 
With regard to the European maritime policy, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the Maltese EU presidency has included the meeting of the Political Commission of CPMR as part of its works, thus reinforcing the coordination with the regions' voice and Member States. The President of the Government also stressed that "blue growth" is a priority "for maritime regions and the islands represented in this organisation, highlighting the importance of increasing EU investment in the maritime economy.
 
Accessibility was another topic addressed by the President of the Government, who defended the need to allocate European funding under the Connecting Europe Mechanism and the Trans-European Transport network to projects that will improve access to European islands and peripheral regions. The opening session also featured the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of European Affairs of the Government of Malta, Louis Grech.
 
The President of the Government also considered that the Regions, being the first level where the impact of the EU's key decisions is felt, have the "responsibility to open the debate" to their citizens and bring their concerns and aspirations to the debate on the future of Europe.
 
"We have to fully influence the EU process launched by President Juncker in the recent White Paper on the Future of Europe," Vasco Cordeiro said, announcing the launch of a broad reflection with the CPMR to identify common solutions, which will be developed over the coming months to collect the contribution of European regions.
 
"We cannot leave decisions only in the hands of national governments and EU institutions," the President of the Government said, calling for a strong involvement of regions in this process of reflection.
 
Vasco Cordeiro assured that regions are "committed to creating opportunities for growth and to improve the lives" of all those who reside in them so that "they may feel European as any other citizen living in continental Europe." In this regard, he stressed the priorities of CPMR "remain more valid than ever in this challenging and changing world."
 
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe is an inter-regional cooperation organisation that comprises 150 regions from 28 European states, encompassing nearly 200 million citizens. The mission of this body is to defend the interests of its members with national and European institutions by promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion, reinforcing regional power in Europe and enhancing the peripheral and maritime dimension of Europe.