The President of the Government of the Azores participates, at the invitation of the European Commission, in the Conference marking the European Day of the Sea to be held in Poole, UK.
 
Vasco Cordeiro will also represent the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) as president of this body. He will speak in the panel on theme "Sustainable Development of the Seas - opportunities and challenges," which will also include the participation of Bernhard Friess, Director for Maritime Policy and Blue Economy of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.
 
The Conference on European Maritime Day 2017 will focus on "The future of our seas." The event will be attended by Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
 
Officially launched in 2008 in Strasbourg, the European Maritime Day is celebrated annually on May 20 with the aim of raising the awareness of European institutions and citizens for the importance of the sea in their day-to-day life, the economy and job creation, both in coastal communities and in areas without access to the sea, across all Europe.
 
The main event of the European Maritime Day is the Conference, which is organised in a different region in each edition.