The President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro, will participate in the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions to be held in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday. This advisory body to European institutions will discuss and adopt opinions on the future of Cohesion and the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

This 132nd plenary meeting of the body representing the European Union regional and local authorities will also be attended by the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, and the European Union's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier.
 
The agenda of these two plenary days includes the debate and voting on twenty opinions. The vast majority of them concern matters of relevance to the Autonomous Region of the Azores, such as the Cohesion Policy, the Common Agricultural Policy and Community funds for the 2021-2027.
 
In this context, the Azores presented a series of individual and collective proposals for change, aiming at the defence of regional interests and those of Outermost Regions in the context of different programmes and regulations currently under discussion.
 
Once approved, these opinions will be submitted to European institutions, including the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament.
 
It should be noted that these three institutions must consult the Committee of the Regions when drafting legislative texts on matters in which regional and local authorities have a say, such as employment, social policy, economic and social cohesion, transport, energy and climate change.
 
The Autonomous Region of the Azores has a seat at the Committee of the Regions - a body that comprises more than 350 members from all Member States - since its inception. Currently, the Region is represented by the President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro.