The President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, is attending the XXIX Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions (ORs), which will take place on April 7 and 8 on the island of Réunion. The meeting is the main structure for political and technical cooperation between the leaders of the executive bodies of the European Union’s outermost regions.
During the conference, the next financial framework for the ORs will be debated, a topic of extreme importance for the future of these regions. The current financial, geopolitical, and economic uncertainties raise concerns about the continuity of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy, which is essential for guaranteeing the integration of the ORs and combating regional asymmetries.
The conference will be attended by various political figures, including Raffaele Fitto, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, with whom José Manuel Bolieiro had already met in February in Brussels. Also present will be Inês Domingos, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Manuel Valls, French Overseas Minister, Younous Omarjee, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Cohesion Policy and Outermost Regions.
As part of the conference, a ceremony will be held to hand over the presidency of the CPRUP from the island of Réunion to Guadeloupe, which will take over the leadership of this body for the next term.
The Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions meets annually, and its conclusions result in a Final Declaration that reflects the common political positions of the outermost regions, influencing European Union policies for these regions.

In Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveira, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures 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.