The Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the Committee of Region will meet in Ponta Delgada next Thursday. The event follows an invitation made by the President of the Government in September 2013 for the organisation of this meeting in the Azores.

The work agenda, among other things, includes the analysis and voting of the report to be drafted by Vasco on the new EU strategy for growth and employment in Coastal and Maritime Tourism sector that was presented by the European Union last February.

The President of the Government was recently appointed rapporteur for the Committee of the Region's report on the new European strategy towards the implementation of actions and measures to help the States, Regions and companies strengthening their position in the sector as a driving force of the so-called "blue economy."

This strategy falls within the Integrated Maritime Policy and the EU Commission's communication on "blue growth." According to which, Coastal and Maritime Tourism was considered to be a priority intervention sector for its current contribution to European economy as well as for its potentialities in terms of sustainable growth and employment creation.

The meeting of the NAT Commission will be complemented by the organisation of the International Seminar "Beyond the High Season - Promoting sustainable tourism throughout the year" on Friday. The event is a joint organisation between the Government of the Azores and the Committee of the Regions.
This seminar will be open to the public and will gather several political officials as well as regional and international representatives in the sector to address strategies to combat seasonality in European regions.

The organisation of the twentieth NAT Committee and the seminar on sustainable tourism will bring to the Azores a delegation of about one hundred and fifty people from 22 member states of the European Union.

NAT is a specialised commission of the Committee of the Regions in the field of Agriculture, Fisheries, Marine Policy, Tourism, Civil Protection and Consumer Protection within the European Union. It comprises presidents and representatives of the Regions and Municipalities of 28 Member States.

This is one of the six commissions that make up the Committee of the Regions; latter is the body that provides support to the preparation of reports on proposals presented by the EU Commission, either legislative or non-legislative.

The reports adopted by the commissions will be then submitted for approval at the Plenary Assembly of the Committee of the Regions.