The President of the Government was sworn member of the Political Bureau of Assembly of European Regions (AER) on Friday morning during the 26th General Assembly of that body taking place in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.
Carlos César, who had been re-elected for the position on Thursday, reiterated in the first meeting of the new Bureau held on Friday that “the Azores will always be available to strengthen their cooperation with the Assembly of European Regions by boosting our participation in its various Commissions, Work Groups and Programmes, with special emphasis on Eurodyssey.”
Regarding the Eurodyssey programme, the President of the Government stated that the Region aims to continue to develop this emblematic programme of the AER, adding that this goal will be accomplished by “integrating more regions not only in Eastern and Northern Europe, but also in a wider and transatlantic dimension of Eurodyssey with the most European region in North America, Quebec.”
With the integration of Quebec in the AER through Eurodyssey, there will be many cooperation opportunities between European regions and that Canadian province that are not limited to professional mobility; however, this mobility is a world of opportunities for youngster from both sides of the Atlantic.
Mentioning the European Observatory on Professional Mobility, established at this meeting in Istanbul – an Azorean initiative which was much desired by the President of AER, Michéle Sabban – Carlos César stressed that “mobility is a central goal for Europe 2020 strategy and we think that European regions should contribute with determination and effectiveness for this for this desire of the European Union.”
The Azores, as in other areas, are fully available to support and participate in relevant initiatives for European regional power.
In addition, the re-elected President of AER has repeatedly conveyed her support to the Azorean Presidency of Eurodyssey and also, through this professional mobility programme, to the efforts to strengthen the power of regions within the European Union. 
This subject was discussed by Carlos César, Michéle Sabban and Ségolène Royal – candidate for the French Presidency in 2007 and President of the French region of Poitou-Charentes that integrates Eurodyssey – during the official dinner of the 26th General Assembly of European Regions on Friday night.