The Political Bureau of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), an interregional cooperation body chaired by Vasco Cordeiro, adopted today a formal position on the next EU budget that calls for a strong Cohesion Policy endowed with the necessary financial resources to achieve its goals.
 
This was one of the main topics of the working sessions of the Political Bureau of CPMR in Greece. On the occasion, the President of the Government of the Azores warned that the European Commission's initial proposals on the future of Cohesion Policy, which provide for several cuts after 2020, are unacceptable.
 
In 2016, Vasco Cordeiro was reelected for a second term as President of CPMR, an interregional cooperation body that encompasses 160 regions from 28 European states, congregating 200 million citizens.
 
"If these proposals were adopted, they would be an irreversible blow to the future of this Policy and to its goal of tackling regional disparities across Europe. This would mean a disaster for economic, social and territorial cohesion, creating an even greater gap between citizens and the European project," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
The Political Position adopted today, which will be sent to various European institutions on behalf of the 160 regions belonging to CPMR, calls for a post-2020 Cohesion Policy as the main tool for Community investment in the Regions. It must remain true to its guiding principles, namely in areas such as island and outermost regions.
 
At the opening of the working session, Vasco Cordeiro defended that, for these reasons, the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, accounting for about 90% of the funds Portugal received in 2016, "should not be sacrificed to finance new EU priorities," such as Migration and Common Defence policies.
 
In December and January, the President of the Government carried out a round of contacts with senior officials of European institutions in Brussels in order to raise their awareness for the importance of the European Union in the next multiannual financing framework, the main Community investment tool in the regions.
 
In December, Vasco Cordeiro met with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and, in late January, he held meetings with the European Commission's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, the first Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and the President of the Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambert.
 
On that occasion, Vasco Cordeiro signed the “#CohesionAlliance” Declaration, which formalised the accession of the Azores to a coalition of European regions and entities claiming the existence of a strong and effective Cohesion Policy in the Community budget after 2020.
 
The mission of CPMR is to defend the interests of its members within national and European institutions, through the promotion of territorial cohesion and regional power in Europe as well as through the reinforcement of the peripheral and maritime dimension of the European Union.