The Government of the Azores, which holds the Presidency of the Conference of Outermost Regions, welcomed today the approval of the report drafted by Madeira MEP Nuno Teixeira on "The role of cohesion policy in the Outermost Regions of the European Union in the context of EU 2020".

After the approval of the report by the EU Parliament Committee on Regional Development in Brussels on Tuesday morning, the Under Secretary for European Affairs and External Cooperation took the opportunity to convey to MEP Nuno Teixeira the Government's satisfaction with the work developed. The government official also stressed that "the good cooperation of the Government with the rapporteur and the Committee on Regional Development has allowed that all amendments proposed by the Conference of Presidents of the ORs were welcomes not only by the rapporteur, but also by other MEPs."

Rodrigo Oliveira also conveyed his satisfaction on behalf of the Government with the fact that "MEP Nuno Teixeira and the Committee on Regional Development have managed to keep the planned schedule, despite the submission of 174 amendments to the report. Hence, the compliance with the schedule ensures the adoption of the report at the Plenary in time for being considered by the European Commission in the Communication on the Renewed Strategy for Outermost Regions, which is expected to be released in the first half of this year."

One should recall that the Government of the Azores promoted, in the context of the Conference of Presidents of Outermost Regions, bilateral meetings with rapporteur Nuno Teixeira to ensure that several issues and measures defended by the governments of ORs were included in the report. The reinforcement of the status of Outermost Regions, the full integration of the ORs in the Internal Market and the creation of a specific programme on energy, transport and information technology and communication, similar to POSEI, were some of the issues and measures suggested in accordance with the Memorandum on Outermost Regions and their Member States in 2010.

The Committee on Regional Development of the European Parliament - led by Danuta Hübner, former Commissioner for Regional Policy who has a profound knowledge of the reality of Outermost Regions - is made up by 98 MEPs, including Azorean MEP, Luís Paulo Alves Azores, and Madeira MEP, Nuno Teixeira.