the partnership session of the Conference of Presidents of the Ultra Peripheral Regions of Europe

Friday November 23, 2018, the partnership session of the Conference of Presidents of the Ultra Peripheral Regions of Europe (CPRUP) was held in Gran Canaria, at the end of which the handover of the presidency between the Canary Islands and Saint-Martin took place.

It was in the presence of the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and the representative of the European Parliament, Commissioner Corina Crétu, that the partnership session took place, at the Klaus auditorium in center of the capital Las Palmas.

In his opening speech, the President of the Canary Islands, Fernado Clivajo, recalled the fundamentals of the Union of the ORs and the importance of talking about a sole voice in a tense European context. King Felipe himself indicated that his role was to support this unanimous statement at the European level.

President Gibbs wished to highlight the successive revisions of the FEDER-FSE Operational Plan, with notably the creation of an FEDER axis exclusively dedicated to reconstruction. “We are the first region to seize this opportunity offered by the revision of the general regulation of European structural and investment funds, and which made it possible to create an axis for the reconstruction of Saint-Martin,” he recalled.

Among the priorities for the coming year, Saint-Martin has requested the creation of a specialized Task Force on statistics bringing together the Community of Saint-Martin, the national authorities, and the Commission. “It must make it possible to find a rapid and lasting solution to compensate for the absence of statistical devices in the territory,” insisted President Gibbs. The primary objective of the Saint-Martin Community for the post-2020 programming of the Structural Funds remains the obtaining of its own OPs housing credits commensurate with the real needs of the territory. In the short term, it is therefore a question of obtaining the classification of Saint-Martin as a NUTS 2 region thanks to an exceptional application of Regulation No. 1059/2003, as was the case for Mayotte.

The priorities of the Saint-Martinoise presidency

The Saint-Martinoise presidency has defined its priorities which will be to unite the ORs around the preservation of their respective ecosystems, to further mobilize the Social Fund European (FSE) in terms of training, employment and entrepreneurship, to adapt European regulations to the financing needs of overseas companies with aid to young business creators, but also to companies with more than 250 employees, to catch up with community achievements in waste treatment and sanitation to reduce the structural development gap with continental Europe and finally to access development, research and innovation credits which could make our ORs territories pilots in many areas.

During the closing press conference, President Gibbs thanked the European Commission for the efforts made in its legislative proposals in favor of the ORs, “proposals which will have to be reinforced", specified the president, particularly welcoming Commissioner Corina Crétu for her unwavering support after the passage of Hurricane Irma.

As he takes over the presidency of the Conference of Presidents of the ORs , President Gibbs also welcomed the quality of the work of the CPRUP and the consolidated unity between the member territories in respecting and taking into account the specificities of each OR in all of the policies of the Union on the basis of Article 349 of the Operational Treaty. This consideration will thus make it possible to work on concrete projects in favor of the socio-economic development of the regions. “The right to difference must not lead to difference in rights and regression for budgetary reasons. We are very attached to equal treatment, catching up and convergence on national and European standards,” declared the president.

For its presidency, Saint-Martin is particularly committed to Excellence for all, “the ORs must not be low-cost territories”. The Saint-Martinoise presidency is committed to defending the specificities of the ORs and to continuing, with the European Commission and the Member States, the implementation of the OR Communication.

Note that in the margins of the Conference, President Gibbs participated in a bilateral meeting with Commissioner Corina Crétu, in order to take stock of the allocation of European Funds, in particular the Post Irma Relief Fund (FSUE), and thus enable Saint- Martin to benefit from European aid where the need is most urgent.