Director General Xesca Ramis will present 12 amendments to the draft opinions to be debated at the Committee of the Regions plenary session between today and tomorrow.

The Director General of Institutional Relations and Relations with the Parliament, Xesca Ramis Pons, is attending the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which will be held until tomorrow, Wednesday, in Brussels, where, in defence of the interests of the citizens of the islands, she will present a total of 12 amendments to the draft opinions presented by the committee’s representatives.

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The government demands territorial impact assessments from the EU to combat the ‘serious and permanent disadvantages’ of islands

The Director-General, who met today with the political representatives of the Spanish delegation to the CoR, will present three amendments to the draft opinion on Protecting Europe’s regions from shocks: strengthening local and regional economic resilience in the strategic evolution of the single market at today’s plenary session.

These amendments highlight the need to pay special attention to regions suffering from severe and permanent natural handicaps, such as island regions, as laid down in Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Ramis, in his speech, pointed out that ‘the European Union is made up of very diverse local and regional authorities’ and that ‘the policies carried out by the EU institutions affect disparate regions in different ways’, which is why he said that it is ‘extremely important that territorial impact assessments are carried out so that, before European policies are approved, the particularities of certain territories such as those suffering from severe and permanent natural handicaps are taken into consideration’.

Second day of the plenary session

On the second day of tomorrow’s plenary session, the Government will present two amendments to the draft opinion on Demographic change in Europe: a set of instruments for action, which have been proposed by the Director General of European Funds. These amendments highlight the challenges faced by some island territories with overpopulation and the strong pressure that this fact implies on the territory and public services.

Mr Ramis also tabled an amendment to the draft opinion on Recommendations for the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, which was proposed by the Balearic Islands Government’s Directorate-General for Innovation and Digital Transformation.

This amendment stresses the need, when implementing the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, to consider, given the special characteristics and needs of island regions, the island dimension to promote policies to foster innovation in these regions.

Finally, it will table 6 amendments to the draft resolution on the state of the regions and cities in the EU and the political guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029. These amendments address different issues such as the conversion of tourism towards a more sustainable model. It is also requested, with emphasis on the Mediterranean island regions, that in favour of affordable and accessible housing, access to EU aid for energy renovation should be simplified. Furthermore, the need for the EU to address the demographic challenges in terms of overpopulation, which particularly affects island territories, generating high pressure on the territory, is also raised.

These amendments also highlight the specificities of territories suffering from severe natural and demographic handicaps specified in Article 174 of the TFEU, including island regions, such as adaptation to the effects of climate change or the need to carry out territorial impact assessments in favour of adequate subsidiarity.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Directorate General for Institutional Relations and Parliament will accompany the President of the Govern, Marga Prohens, on a visit to the Govern’s office in Brussels, where they will meet with the technician and the four grant holders who are currently carrying out their support tasks on issues related to the European Union.