In a speech to the 4th forum of outermost regions on Thursday 30 March, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu said she was optimistic about the future of the outermost regions.
The commissioner said she was “resolutely optimistic” about the future of the outermost regions over the next 10 to 15 years. She also said that the nine outermost regions were indeed small but they were also creative and representative of an “inclusive and caring economy”, which will be able to flourish, particularly by drawing on the potential of blue growth and the collaborative economy.
Creţu pointed out the instruments the European Union had available for supporting these regions, such as cohesion policy and POSEI programmes, which seek to support agriculture in these regions and whose results appear productive (see EUROPE 11690). Nonetheless, she did provide a warning: “but all this will only bear fruit if you really use these instruments, if you channel your energies to work on projects that will improve the life of your communities”.
These ideas have a particular resonance, given that one French overseas territory, Guiana, has been shaken by strong social movements (see EUROPE 11753). European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also came to speak to this forum on Friday 31 March and opened his speech with comments regarding this French region, which he was keen to praise, before briefly acknowledging the mistakes that had been made. He rather soberly admitted that “our mistakes are due to not paying attention”.
Juncker then highlighted the importance of revising the strategy for the outermost regions. This is expected to be presented in September or during the autumn, and he highlighted the need to develop a “genuine partnership” that had to be based on “real dialogue” and “increased knowledge of the specificities of the outermost regions on the European continent”. Juncker acknowledged that this knowledge was “under-developed” on mainland Europe and appealed for a “region by region” approach.
Juncker also used this event to promote the Strategic Investment Plan for Europe – which is, nonetheless, causing concern to many regions (see EUROPE 11738) – to invest in infrastructure. He therefore expressed a wish to see the outermost regions applying to the Plan in order to finance “a new under the sea cable project to link Brazil and Europe and therefore connect Guiana, the Canaries and my friends from Madeira”.
During the forum, the presidents of the outermost regions handed a memorandum to the Commission containing a large number of proposals. EUROPE will return to this issue next week. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)