Vice-Presidency of the Government promotes Europe Day celebrations on Santa Maria Island
Artur Lima defends strong Cohesion Policy to reduce constraints in the Azores
Artur Lima insists on adjusting salary scales for Lajes Base workers
The Regional Directorate for European Affairs and External Cooperation operates under the Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores.
Welcome to the Regional Directorate for European Affairs and External Cooperation.
We are the department of the Regional Government of the Azores responsible for conducting the European and external policies pursued by the Azores.
At a European level, we carry out two essential tasks. Firstly, we are responsible for monitoring, coordinating, consulting and overseeing the European affairs that fall under the direct responsibility of specific governmental departments, such as Agriculture, Fisheries, Transport, Taxes, etc.
Secondly, we play an active role in the European interregional cooperation, with special emphasis on the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions and the cooperation in the context of the Macaronesia area.
As regards External Cooperation, we seek to promote and enhance the Atlantic centrality of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and its integration into the International Relations system. Accordingly, we privilege the Region's position in the context of the Transatlantic Relationship and particularly its relations with the United States. Furthermore, we focus on the Region's cooperation with other infra-state and even state entities outside the European space, namely with Cape Verde as well as with Member States and Provinces of the United States, Canada and Brazil, in particular.
May 2, 2024
Vice-Presidency of the Government promotes Europe Day celebrations on Santa Maria Island
The Vice-Presidency of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for European Affairs and External Cooperation, promotes the regional celebrations of Europe Day in Vila do Porto on the island of Santa Maria on 9 May, with various educational, cultural and recreational initiatives. The celebration programme, which is the result of a partnership with the Azores Mission Structure for Space (EMA-Espaço)/Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, the Vila do Porto Town Council and the EUROPE DIRECT Azores centre, is being held under the Space theme. The celebration aims to raise awareness and stimulate the interest and participation of the entire community in activities related to the European Union, contributing to greater and better dissemination and knowledge of matters concerning the European Union in general and the Outermost Regions (ORs), such as the Azores. This year's celebrations will focus on space, bringing this theme into line with the regional and national ambition to make the Azores a European Atlantic hub for space, leveraging the privileged conditions of the Region for the consolidation and growth of its space ecosystem. This will make a decisive contribution to implementing national and European space programmes. The programme kicks off on the morning of May 8 with the "Back to School" initiative at the Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School, which will be attended by Vera Pinto Gomes, a member of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS). The opening conference "Europe and Space: the role of the Azores and Portugal in the European space programme" is scheduled for 8:30 pm at the Vila do Porto Municipal Library and will feature Vera Pinto Gomes from the European Commission's DG DEFIS and Hugo Costa, director of the Portuguese Space Agency (AEP). The "Us, Europe and Space" exhibition, created by students from the European Club of the Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School, will also be open to the public in the Library until May 10 from 9 am to 6 pm. From May 13, the exhibition will be displayed at the Basic Education and Secondary School. The solemn session will take place on May 9 at the Vila do Porto Municipal Garden at 9:30 am, with the hoisting of the flags and the performance of the European Anthem by the Recreio Espirituense Philharmonic Band, followed by speeches from representatives of the Regional Government, the Vila do Porto Municipality and the Europe Direct Azores Information Centre.
March 22, 2024
Artur Lima defends strong Cohesion Policy to reduce constraints in the Azores
The Vice-President of the Regional Government, Artur Lima, accompanied by the Regional Director for European Affairs and External Cooperation, Carlos Amaral, defended today in Patras that "we cannot envisage the European Union without a strong and ambitious Cohesion Policy." According to him, this policy should be geared towards the "full integration of the Outermost Regions into the European framework." "We cannot envisage the European Union (EU) without a strong and ambitious Cohesion Policy, hopefully with a simpler and more flexible application, and with an increasingly in-depth territorial approach," he explained. Artur Lima spoke at a session dedicated to the Future of Cohesion Policy post-2027, held as part of the Political Bureau of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPRM), which is taking place in Patras, Greece. "Cohesion is at the heart of the European project thanks to its territorial approach, which reflects European diversity," he said. He recalled: "It is necessary to emphasise that the situation of the Outermost Regions, such as the Azores, is not comparable - due to the combination of various constraints - to other territorial realities in Europe." According to the government official, it is vital to ensure that "any new responses within the framework of the post-2027 European reforms should not be to the detriment of long-term investment programmes, such as the Cohesion Policy." As such, Artur Lima considered that the "needs of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in terms of basic infrastructures in essential areas such as transport, health, education or digital technology," should continue to be "prioritised within the scope of Cohesion Policy." In this respect, the Vice-President of the Government mentioned the example of transport and accessibility in archipelago regions. "The connectivity and sustainability of transport is a prime example of the difficulty of adapting policies designed for a contiguous and homogeneous territory to islands, archipelagos and territories far removed from the European continent," he said. He added: "In the case of the Azores, for example, this is a blatant situation, where there are nine airports or aerodromes and more than a dozen ports ( not to mention fishing ports), in addition to nine road networks with specific configurations on the nine islands. Therefore, it will be necessary to mobilise resources permanently to ensure the continuity of these infrastructures and their maintenance, given their exposure to weather phenomena."