The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations will travel this week to Brussels where he will take part in the works of 116th plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR).
 
On Tuesday, February 9, Rodrigo Oliveira will participate on behalf of the President of the Government in the meeting of the Bureau, the political body of CoR, where they will analyse, among other matters, the work programme of different commissions, platforms and networks of the Committee of the Region for 2016, the organisation of the next plenary meetings and the preparation of reports.
 
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Affairs participates in the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions that will feature the following speakers: the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the European commissioner responsible for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Tibor Navracsics, and the Minister of the Interior and Internal Relations of the Netherlands, Ronald Plasterk, on behalf of the Presidency of the Council.
 
In the two-day plenary works, participants will discuss and vote on reports about cooperation in the areas of youth, adapted tourism, data collection in the fisheries sector, innovation and modernisation of rural economy and threats to the Schengen area.
 
The Committee of the Regions currently comprises 353 members from the 28 Member States. It is an advisory body of the European Union that represents regional and local EU entities, being responsible for the debate and preparation of reports on political issues and proposals of the European Union in areas related to the exercise of regional and local power in Europe.
 
The Azores are represented in the Committee of the Regions by the President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro, elected Vice-President of this body in 2015, and the Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, Rodrigo Oliveira, as alternate member.
 
The Autonomous Region of the Azores holds a seat in the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT), the Environment Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) and the Bureau of the Committee of the Regions; the latter is composed of the president and vice-presidents, coordinators of national delegations and the presidents of the political commissions and groups. It is responsible for creating the political programme, supervising its implementation and coordinating the work of plenary meetings and commissions.