20/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - EP wants Island Pact. The European Parliament adopted a statement on Europe's island regions during its plenary session on 19 January. The text urges the Commission to establish an Island Pact as an EU initiative, in order to support the project financially and to encourage other bodies to sign up to it. The pact has already come about through the resolve of the various outlying and insular communities that wish to go beyond EU 2020 objectives towards sustainable development. The islands are largely dependent on fossil fuels, and are vulnerable to climate change. However, they have resources that can be exploited for the development of renewable energies, which could also contribute to overcoming their structural disadvantages. (MD/transl.jl)