Rui Bettencourt highlights importance of Macaronesia in European territorial cooperation
The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations stated in Praia, Cape Verde, that the "funds for territorial cooperation cannot be reduced" as far as it "is rooted on the same spirit of cooperation in Europe and on the same spirit of construction in the European Union."
"Of course, there is a lot of work to be done," said Rui Bettencourt. In this context, he stressed that, when structuring the new European Territorial Cooperation programme, INTERREG 21-27, it is necessary to persuade the next European Commission that they have "a fundamental space of cooperation," which is the region of Macaronesia.
The government official spoke at the opening session of a workshop held under the "Hexagone" project of the Territorial Cooperation Programme designated as INTERREG MAC 2014-2020. According to him, the next decade will be "important" in the area of European territorial cooperation and, in this context, there is a lot of work to be done in conjunction with the other Macaronesian regions.
"It is an important moment because we are aware that the 21-27 period. i.e., the 2020s decade will be very structuring for this European territorial cooperation programme. It will also be a turning point as this area will become more relevant," stated the Regional Secretary.
Rui Bettencourt also pointed out that the next decade could be "an extraordinary decade" in terms of cooperation, highlighting the fact that the future European territorial cooperation programme is being prepared may "structuring" for such cooperation.
"This moment is important and strategic for the preparation of our future in terms of cooperation," said the government official. In this regard, he called for the need to raise awareness about the joint position of the Azores with the other Macaronesian archipelagos. This is especially relevant given their "geostrategic importance in the world" and "the massive maritime area encompassed by these territories," which must be taken into account at a time when much is said about the so-called blue economy.
In his speech, the Regional Secretary also stressed the importance of raising awareness for the size of Macaronesia by its population, nearly 3.5 million people, thus calling for the unity of all towards this purpose.
"It is also important to be aware of our complementarity," said the government official.
"We are complementary. We work together and cooperate even though each of us has its own government. We complement each other in tourism, economy, economy of the sea, space, which is an emerging sector requiring cooperation, research, academic matters, innovation and in international trade, "said Rui Bettencourt, who considered "Macaronesia as a fundamental space."
The Regional Secretary also emphasised that the "Hexagone" strategic project, approved under the MAC 2014-2020 territorial cooperation programme, is "a project that goes far beyond, paving the way for new forms of cooperation." In this regard, he pointed out that several projects and examples of good practices in the area of cooperation will be presented during the workshop.