The President of the Government stressed the importance of the Representation Office of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and Madeira, which opened today, stressing that its success depends on the use of the entities representing the civil societies of both regions.
 
"This is not a space to represent the Government but to represent the Region. This not a question of terminology as it also imposes the responsibility for what this space should be and will be on all the living forces of the Region," said Vasco Cordeiro at the opening ceremony.
 
For the President of the Government, the representation office now opened in the Belgian capital, located near the European Commission building, "will be what social partners, administrations and governments want it to be."
 
In his speech delivered at the ceremony, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that this representation office will be a "space for the assertion" of both autonomous regions in Brussels, but assured that "it is neither competitor nor an alternative to REPER - Permanent Representative of Portugal to the European Union." The event was attended by the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Margarida Marques, as well as by members of the diplomatic corps, MEPs and representatives of social partners.
 
 "This space is not just another tool that adds up to the development work carried out by REPER, the work carried out by MEPs or to the work developed by a wide range of EU institutions," the President of the Government said, adding that, from now on, there is "another tool to help promoting and defending the interests of the Azores and Madeira."
 
"This is the time to start. It is time to build what will be the function of this space. This is the home of the Azores and Madeira in Brussels. Use it, make its use meaningful and fulfil the potential that this area clearly has," said Vasco Cordeiro.