Brussels, 24/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Migratory questions will constitute one of the mainstays of the 35th Islands Committee at the European Parliament on Thursday 25 June. This committee will be attended by the President of the Azores government and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), Vasco Cordeiro.
The President of the Region of Sicily, Rosario Crocetta, will be on the “Migration and Island Borders” panel, together with Federica Mogherini, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Migration issues are at the heart of the CPMR's concerns. In May, it launched a public petition entitled We Are All Mediterraneans (see EUROPE 11318).
The position of the islands in cohesion and energy policy will also be two other priority themes at the General Assembly.
A ceremony will also be organised in honour of the new signatories of the “Pact of the Islands”, which is making sustainable development one of the islands' priorities in the pursuit of the objectives contained in the “EUROPE 2020” Strategy for fighting climate change.
The Committee of the Islands (24 regional authorities) is one of the six CPMR geographic committees and meets up twice a year. It seeks to raise awareness in the EU and member states about issues relating to the islands, as well as promote interregional cooperation between the different island areas. (Pascal Hansens)