Statement by the President of the Government - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

Full speech by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, delivered today in Ponta Delgada at the XXV Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions, held by video conference, to testify from the presidency of the ORs:

“It is natural, but with a sense of responsibility, that the Azores take over the presidency of the Conference of the Outermost Regions of the European Union — while conscious of, on the one hand, the high level to which previous presidencies have accustomed us and, on the other hand, the enormous challenges faced by the pandemic times we are facing, with strong impacts on our economy and our populations.

First of all, let me thank you for the leadership of President Ramadani and his team in Mayotte for the enormous work done in such a difficult period, but also time for good news at the level of the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. What has been achieved inspired me and motivates me for this presidency, but at the same time I get responsibility and focus.

In the action programme we are preparing and which will soon be sent to you, we will seek to guide our action in two nuclear registries.

Firstly, by safeguarding the Community Acquisition that concerns us and the important achievements we have been leading together.

Secondly, by seeking a new European strategy for the ORs, an integral strategy that can be opened up to the various areas of contemporary life, capable of ensuring that our regions converge with the European Union and thereby respect the equal dignity and full European citizenship of our communities.

Active participation from the first hour in the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and in the forthcoming Convention on the Future of Europe, which we consider to be valuable tools for the pursuit of both of these basic aims.

Europe’sadvanced borders, our regions project the European Union literally at all four corners of the world. In our action programme we propose to comply with a double track.

On the onehand, we will try to bring Europe to the Azores. For the Azores and the other outermost regions. With regard to the Azorean presidency, we will seek to promote an even greater presence of the Union and the Outermost Regions in the daily lives of our communities, starting with the youngest people, who are our future, and schools.

It also promotes an even greater presence of the outermost regions on the European agenda. To this end, the Association of the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions of the European Union that we formalised yesterday will undoubtedly continue to be an important tool and a valuable catalyst for our action.

And in this respect, and as the first output of the Azorean Presidency, we will seek to capitalise on the expertise and capacities of research and knowledge production already built up in our regions. To this end, we propose to set up an OR Research Laboratory, in addition to bringing together our universities, and will also extend to the higher institutes, as well as the continental counterparts available to collaborate with us in the scientific advice of our work and the accumulation of the critical mass that can pave the way for scientific research that can leverage our growth and modernisation challenge, given the unique conditions we have already in the environment, blue, blue, research, technology, etc.

In particular in these times of pandemic, it is more important than ever to address the increased weaknesses that characterise our regions, in the economy and in health, as in employment, education and culture in particular. However, it is also important to take due advantage of the obvious added value that we present and also focus on the blue economy — in the end, we have an immense sea with resources that are still unknown even today. And the green economy, renewable energy, climate change monitoring, combating and mitigation. And in geostrategic terms, building bridges between civilisations and projecting to the world the fundamental values on which the European project is based: peace, human rights, democratic rule and law, cross-border cooperation, among others.

We are facing enormous challenges. Together and through concerted and well-formed action, we will certainly be better able to overcome them. I count on you and your highest participation with me and with the Azores.

It is a tremendous honour and symbolism that one of the first official acts as President of the XIII Government of the Azores in which I participate (only 3 days ago) is the chairmanship of this noble and important conference. For all this, I reassure you that I will be intransigent in promoting our potential and defending our interests and specificities.”