The island of Saint-Martin president of the Conference of Presidents of the ORs

It was at the end of the partnership session held in Gran Canaria, Friday November 23, 2018, in the presence of European Commissioner Corina Crétu, that the President of the community of Saint-Martin, Daniel Gibbs , officially took on the presidency of the Conference of Presidents of the Ultra Peripheral Regions of Europe (CPRUP), for a period of one year.

After being appointed President of the Association of ORs ( ARUP) in April 2018, President Gibbs took over the presidency of the Conference of Presidents of the ORs, during the handover between the Canary Islands and Saint Martin, Friday in Las Palmas.

The 9 ORs were represented; among them, the President of the regional government of Madeira Miguel Albuquerque, the President of the Executive Council of Martinique Alfred Marie-Jeanne, the President of the Azores government Vasco Codeiro, the vice-president of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe Marie-Luce Penchard, the vice-president of Mayotte Mohamed Sidi, the vice-president of Réunion Yolène Costes, the vice-president of Guyana Claude Plenet, the President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo and President Daniel Gibbs.

During his speech, our president recalled the major challenges of the presidency of the CPRUP, which may seem distant from a local point of view, but which will give Saint-Martin a new European positioning, and the opportunity to make assert its interests and those of the 8 other outermost regions.

President Gibbs said, his objective is to “continue the defense of the interests of the ORs in the current negotiations relating to the legislative proposals and post-2020 budgetary measures so that the provisions of Article 349 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are fully and faithfully implemented. ".

It will also ensure the success of lobbying actions, "carefully follow the negotiations in the European Parliament and the Council, act so that the specific situation of the ORs is always taken into account and recognized". For the President, “we need to make the ORs and their specificities better known and recognized at the local, national and European level, particularly through joint and collaborative actions in areas of common interest such as sustainable development, growth blue, climate change and many others, without forgetting the imperative to catch up on basic infrastructure and the development of our potential. ".

“Our delays remain significant: the facts are stubborn! We must therefore fill them, with our own strength of course, but also thanks to national and European solidarity. We must therefore continue to adopt our responsible attitude. Be constructive, without giving up, without ever forgetting the imperative need to preserve our unity and our social cohesion. In other words, and to paraphrase Felix EBOUE, neither extend your hand, nor raise your fist…” concluded the President before accepting the presidency. Saint-Martin will therefore have the task of organizing the 24th Conference of Presidents and leading the OR group to bring their expectations within the European Union.