The Conference of Presidents of Outermost Regions, chaired by the President of the Azorean Government, Carlos César, has provided a joint contribution on the revision of EU rules for Regional State Aid.

According to the document submitted to the European Commission, the Outermost Regions acknowledge the importance of the current guidelines as a tool to foster investment, creation of jobs and competitiveness of these regions. However, they consider them to be insufficient as they consist in "sporadic adaptations of a series of measures created for different realities."

Consequently, the ORs defend that "new measures" should be created, taking into the need to develop and improve this treatment. Furthermore, these measures should address the specific situation of Outermost Regions, being in accordance with article 349 of the Treaty."

The contribution submitted by the Government of the Azores on behalf of the outermost regions that make up the Conference defends the "importance of simplifying notification procedures for the European Commission and speeding up the allocation of support" in order to prevent "companies from resorting to support mechanisms due to the excessive complexity of procedures."

Therefore, the Conference of Outermost Regions calls for increased flexibility with regard to State Aid for Outermost Regions - intended to contribute to regional development and compensate the additional costs of remoteness - as this tool is an important incentive to offset the disadvantages in the operation of economic activities in these territories. For their specific features, these regions do not pose a threat to open-competition and the operation of the Internal Market.

The contribution of Outermost Regions is one of several aspects that make up the overall work developed by the Conference of Presidents in the field of State aid under the revision for 2014-2020. In this context, the President of the Government and the Conference, Carlos César, is making the necessary arrangements to convince the Commissioner for Competition, Joaquín Almunia, to create a specific framework for the allocation of State aid to Outermost Regions. This initiative would ensure the consistency and simplification of procedures.