The 43rd General Assembly of the Islands Commission of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) will be held on April 23 and 24 in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.

The work kicks off on the afternoon of April 23, with the opening session scheduled for 2:30 p.m., which will be chaired by the President of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, and will be attended by the president of the CPMR, Loïg Chesnais-Girard.

The closing session, to be held at 12:50 p.m. on April 24, will be chaired by the Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima.

The program includes a series of sessions dedicated to maritime affairs, energy, transport, the environment, and climate, as well as a session on the future of the European Union’s islands after the next European elections.

This meeting will be attended by around half a hundred members from eleven island regions in countries such as Portugal (Azores and Madeira), Spain (Canary Islands and Balearic Islands), France (Brittany, Corsica, Guadeloupe and Réunion), Malta (Gozo), Estonia (Saarema) and Sweden (Gotland).

Representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, and the Council of the European Union will also take part, mainly representing the Belgian presidency and representatives of associations linked to the different realities of the islands.

The Islands Commission is one of the CPMR’s six geographical commissions. It covers 19 European island regional authorities located in the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

The main objective of the Islands Commission is to encourage European institutions and Member States to pay special attention to the islands, recognize the permanent disadvantages and vulnerabilities resulting from their insularity, and apply the policies best suited to their specific characteristics.

The Islands Commission meets in the General Assembly once a year.

From a Press Release.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.