The Regional Government, through the Regional Secretariats for the Sea, Science and Technology, Transport and Public Works and External Relations, participated in the European Commission's public consultation process on the digital component of the Connecting Europe Facility, which aims to connect citizens digitally.
 
In the context of the preparation of the work programmes for this mechanism, the Regional Government defends that “specific measures should be envisaged for Outermost Regions" (ORs). It also considers that the proposed regulation, under public consultation process, will “have a considerable impact not only on communications infrastructures but also on energy and transport.”
 
“The European Union needs a high-performance and up-to-date multimodal infrastructure that connects and integrates all European regions, including outermost and island regions such as the Azores, in the transport, digital and energy sectors,” says the document.
 
Moreover, the document highlights that, as a result of the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council, a specific reference to the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira is now included as regards the replacement of the submarine fibre optic cable.
 
The Regional Government also considers the provisions for increased co-financing for Outermost Regions as "a key point" in accordance with Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
 
In this regard, it is considered that higher co-financing rates for Outermost Regions will be “an important stimulus” in the implementation of "smart cities" projects, namely in Lagoa (São Miguel) and Praia da Vitória (Terceira), besides the potential that it can offer in the 5G (partial) coverage of the Azorean Exclusive Economic Zone.