The President of the Government defended the active role of Regions in the implementation of the so-called Juncker Plan so that the measures comprised in the plan presented by the European Commission may result in economic growth and employment creation in Outermost Region.

"The involvement of Regions in this Plan is essential for the programme to effectively cover the entire EU territory, including remote and outermost regions in order to produce the desired results in terms of employment and wealth generation in Europe," said Vasco Cordeiro.

The President of the Government spoke at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), an organisation that includes 150 regions from 28 Member States, encompassing nearly 200 million European citizens.

Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the Plan presented by the European Commission to stimulate economic growth and employment creation in the European Union cannot overlook the role of Regions in its implementation. In this regard, the President of the Government pointed out, as example, the considerable experience of some of these territories in several areas, such as maritime industries and sea-related activities.

This is first meeting of the Political Bureau of CPMR chaired by Vasco Cordeiro since his election as President of this interregional cooperation body in September 2014. The President of the Government recalled that he already addressed this claim in the meetings he recently held with the European Commissioners responsible for the areas of Regional Development, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Science and Innovation, taking into account that the Juncker Plan is under discussion at European institutions.

The President of the Government also defended the need to ensure the "balance between the levels of European, national and regional powers," claiming that it will ensure the Regions' capacity to adopt better policies and measures that best serve their populations, which meets the subsidiarity principle that lies at the heart of the European project.

"I am really convinced that CPMR can act as a bridge between the EU Commission and European regions. Our proximity to the territories and citizens and our commitment to European policies are truly an asset for the European Commission when it comes to develop policies and assess their impact," said Vasco Cordeiro.

With regard to cohesion policy, the President of the Government defended that it should be simplified in order to ensure a "more efficient implementation and better results" in the territories where it is in force.

"In fact, the simplification and assessment of concrete results in the field will be the key factor to boost the success of the Cohesion Policy" in terms of investment, economic growth and employment creation in the Regions," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.

In his speech, the President of the Government highlighted other action priorities that will be developed by CPMR, especially with regard to the implementation of the new Community Support Framework, the monitoring and beginning of the Operational Programmes to be implemented by Member States, EU Maritime Policy and Accessibility Policy.

All these issues were addressed during the works of the Political Bureau of CPMR, the political and executive management body of this organisation between General Assemblies.