The President of the Government participates in the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting will analyse several reports in areas of interest to the Azores in the areas of Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism.
 
The 120th plenary meeting of the advisory body of the European institutions representing EU regional and local bodies will discuss and adopt reports on tourism as a driving force of regional cooperation, regulation of price volatility in agricultural products and technical measures for the fisheries sector.
 
The first day of works will include a speech delivered by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, besides the participation of the European Commissioner responsible for the areas of Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen.
 
There will be also a debate on the role of regions in the development of the tourism sector in Europe, featuring the participation of the UN Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation, Taleb Rifai.
 
This plenary session will also analyse how local and regional authorities deal with the challenges of migration in the European Union and will also include a speech delivered by the European Commissioner responsible for this area, Dimitris Avramopoulos.
 
During the works at the European Parliament building in Brussels, the President of the Government will be accompanied by the Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Foreign Affairs, Rui Bettencourt.
 
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.
 
Its primary goal is to issue reports on today's relevant political issues and prepare legislative proposals in areas related to the exercise of regional and local power in Europe, such as the case of economic and social cohesion, employment, vocational training, education and culture, health, social policies, environment, climate change, energy and transport.