The Under Secretary for European Affairs and External Cooperation, Rodrigo Oliveira, presided the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Conference of the Outermost Regions (ORs) held at the Furnas Lake Monitoring and Research, São Miguel, on Thursday.

This was the fifth meeting of the technical body of the Conference of Presidents of Outermost Regions held under the Azorean presidency.
 
The event brought together representatives of the Regions of the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana and Reunion with the purpose of providing technical support and develop proposals for documents and joint political positions taken by the ORs.

Assessing the first two months of the Azorean presidency, Rodrigo Oliveira said "he was extremely pleased with the work developed." The government official stressed the commitment of the remaining Outermost Regions "in a working partnership, sometimes difficult, to find the best common technical and political positions as well as the initiatives worthy of unanimous support", such as the integration of the ORs into the S3 Platform and the organisation of the Seminar "Smart Specialisation Strategies for Regions" this week.

Rodrigo Oliveira also highlighted some relevant actions that have taken place during this period, such as the collaboration of MEP Nuno Teixeira in drafting the report on "The role of cohesion policy in the Outermost Regions of the European Union in the context of EU 2020." In this context, the government official stressed that Nuno Teixeira "included in his report several issues and measures concerning the Outermost Regions development of a specific programme in the area of energy, transport and information and communication technologies, similar to POSEI, as suggested in the Memorandum on Outermost Regions and their Member States in 2010." Moreover, the Regional Under Secretary also mentioned the report also included 19 amendments submitted by the ORs.

"In these first months of the Azorean presidency, we have drawn up reports of Outermost Regions on current subjects, including "the revision of EU rules on state support for regions" or on the "common strategic framework for the 2014-2020 period," mentioned the Regional Under Secretary. The government official also recalled "the crucial actions to promote visibility of our Regions through the presence and organisation of theme seminars on ORs at important external events, such as the European Maritime Day, held in Gothenburg in May, and the World Water Forum, held in Marseille in March.

With regard to the agenda, the Under Secretary stressed the analysis of a programme proposal for the Forum on Outermost Regions, an initiative of the EU Commission "will take place in Brussels for the second time following a proposal presented by the Azorean Government.

 This represents a moment of great importance for our regions in which key areas for Outermost Regions will be addressed: cohesion policy, agriculture, sea, economic competitiveness, transport and accessibility. The meeting will be attended by hundreds of participants, such as representatives of EU Commission, Outermost Regions and various European institutions."

 In addition to meetings of the Monitoring Committee, Rodrigo Oliveira recalled that Outermost Regions are "in contact on a daily basis" and work "in network, sharing relevant information, exchanging views and seeking consensus, particularly in the current discussions on the European framework for 2014-2020. Special has been given to the use of new communication technologies as "it facilitates and the work and the activities developed by the presidency."

The organisation of the Monitoring Committee of the Conference of Outermost Regions was part of the Seminar on the S3 Platform - Smart Specialisation Strategies for Regions that took place in Ponta Delgada on June 5 and 6. In this context, the Regional Under Secretary for European Affairs and External Cooperation conveyed the "great satisfaction for the excellent organisation and success of the initiative as it was expressed to us by the EU Commission and the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of Seville."