It was with "emotion" that the handover of the presidency of the conference of presidents of the outermost regions (RUP) took place last Friday in the middle of the day between Saint-Martin and Mayotte.
“This presidency marks a historic moment for Mayotte”, commented Daniel Gibbs who said he was “moved”. “You put pressure on us… Friendly pressure! », Replied Mohamed Sidi, sixth vice-president of the departmental council of Mayotte, department of France which became RUP in 2014.“ Mayotte is entering this presidency with humility, envy and great determination, ”he said. "Making this presidency a shared lever for the development of these regions with high potential is the objective that Mayotte will pursue throughout this year 2020", assured the elected Mahorais who wishes to continue the work undertaken "in a concern for respect for regional identities ”.
Created in 2013, the conference of the presidents of the outermost regions (CPRUP), “structure of political and technical cooperation between the Presidents of the executive bodies of the Azores, Canaries, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte , La Réunion and Saint-Martin ”, aims to defend the interests of the said regions before the Commission and the European Parliament. The presidency of the conference is rotating, in 2020, it is therefore assured for the first time by Mayotte. In 2019, it was - for the first time too - by Saint-Martin, which became a full-fledged RUP in 2009 after its change of status.
“This presidency was, for me, a singular and exhilarating challenge. I admit that when I was offered to take up this presidency, in October 2017 in Guyana, a month and a half after the devastation of Saint Martin by Hurricane Irma, I had first, before d accept this honor, a moment of hesitation, almost dizzy. How can you assume such a presidency when your territory is devastated, as if wiped off the map? We have taken up this challenge, all together, ”said the President of the COM to his counterparts.
During fifteen months, Daniel Gibbs as president of the CPRUP pursued five objectives: the follow-up of the implementation of the communication RUP, the defense of the statute of the ORs, in particular within the framework of the negotiations relating to the new programming period post 2020, an analysis relating to the acquisition of a legal status for the Conference, the pursuit of joint activities between ORs and in partnership with the European Commission in areas of common interest, the external visibility of the Conference. “The lobbying and action undertaken since 2018 had made it possible to take into account the specificities of the outermost regions in the regulatory proposals of the European Commission. Twenty regulatory proposals have paid particular attention to the outermost regions, based on Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The Saint-Martinoise Presidency therefore undertook to follow carefully and actively the negotiations on these texts, which are continuing at the level of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, in order to ensure that the gains and new opportunities offered to OR are preserved and / or strengthened, ”cites as an example the actions carried out by the president of the COM.
"The effective and complete implementation of Article 349 TFEU must enable the ORs to achieve real equality. You have to be ambitious and aim for rapid convergence with the standard of living of the European Union average. Because the concepts of catching up and convergence should not be disregarded, especially for territories whose GDP per capita painfully exceeds 50% of the European average, "he conceives.
The next conference of presidents of the ORs will take place on 26 and 27 November in Mayotte.
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