From 2nd to the 4th of October, the island of Gozo (Malta) hosted the 52nd General Assembly of the CPMR, along with a thematic seminar, working groups, task force meetings and Geographical Commissions’ plenaries.
The Islands Commi
ssion’s Plenary took place on the 3rd of October, where several prominent speakers, both members and guests, shared inspiring insights and perspective on their respective insular contexts.
The plenary kicked off with a welcoming speech by John Borg, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Gozo. He highlighted the importance of the CPMR for islands in fostering collective strength, collaboration and sharing of best practices. Addressing policy solutions for insular regions, he stressed the need of ensuring an “island-proof” EU legislation.
Then, Mr. Filip Reinhag, Deputy Mayor of Gotland and new President of the CPMR, took the floor emphasizing that the challenges faced by islands can be seen as opportunities for a tailored and place-based development. In this regard, he also underlined the importance of sustainable tourism, innovation, blue and green economies as key drivers for islands’ growth. However, he pointed out that solutions must reflect the complexity and specificities of insular realities, which can only be possible through the inclusion of islanders’ perspective in the decision-making process. For these reasons, he called for better governance structures that can support island goals and foster collaboration at multiple levels of government.
Addressing the topic of sustainable development in islands, the President of the Regional Government of the C
anary Islands, Mr. Fernando Clavijo Battle, highlighted that while tourism has brought considerable economic income, it has also generated negative impacts on local communities, notably pressures on housing, and infrastructures. Therefore, he stressed the need to find joint solutions to address the consequences of overtourism, so that the entire population of Canary Islands can also properly benefit from its outcomes.
Mr. Artur Lima, Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, ensuring the Acting Presidency of the CPMR Islands Commission, emphasized that, for a region as remote as the Azores, connectivity plays a crucial role in driving both economic and social development. The heavy reliance on transportation for passengers, food, goods, and other essentials exacerbates inequalities between insular and non-insular regions. He thus recalled the need for ambitious solutions to address these disparities and achieve strategic autonomy for all insular regions.
Later, another perspective on the specific reality of Outermost Regions was presented by Mr. Jean Pierre Chabriat, Regional Advisor in charge of Research and Energy Transition in La Réunion. Recalling the importance of article 349 TFUE, he explained that due to the geographical distance of La Réunion from mainland Europe, energy-related challenges need a tailored approach, crucial to ensure an equitable access to energy resources, for all EU citizens. He also called for an acceleration in the transition towards 100% renewable energy, allowing La Réunion to become self-sufficient and reduce its reliance on imports.
In her presentation, Francisca Ramis, Director General for Institutional and Parliamentary Relations of the Government of the Balearic Islands, referred on the challenges faced by islands that highly rely on tourism as primary source of development. Indeed, while acknowledging that tourism will remain a pillar of the Balearic Islands’ economy, she emphasized the need to invest in innovation in order to diversify local industry and enhance competitiveness.
The last panellist of the session was Gianni Chianetta, Chair of Greening the Islands Foundation (GTI). He shared with the audience significant data on the Island of Gozo based on a global index developed by GTI. The index measures islands’ sustainability and, at the same time, provide them support and guidance in developing adapted and efficient decarbonization strategies.
The IC Plenary’s ended with the presentation and adoption of the IC Policy Position on Sustainable Tourism and the Activity report 2024, showcasing ongoing cooperation projects including Maesha, TwinSolar, REGINA-MSP and NaTour4CC.
In addition to the IC Plenary, CPMR members, along with Members of the European Parliament (MEP), local, regional and national authorities participated to side meetings, particularly at the Seminar on Transport and Tourism that took place on October 2nd.
In this context, Mrs. Josianne Cutajar, former MEP for Gozo, highlighted the importance of improving connectivity and transport in islands for both tourists and local residents. She recalled that ensuring islanders’ free movement by sea and air is, in fact, a matter of social justice that must be addressed through advancements in sustainable fuels for aviation and maritime transport. She pointed out that these connections not only need to become more eco-friendly but also more affordable for the entire island population. Furthermore, she stressed the necessity of adopting an Islands Pact and an islands-specific impact assessment at EU level, to evaluate how specific policies or legislation may affect island territories.
Echoing Mrs. Cutajar, Mr. Christian Zammit, Senior Manager at the Office of the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for Gozo, focused on the essential role of maritime transport for Gozo as a peripheral and small island, facing double insularity. The same concern was raised by Mr. Antonio Mercant, Director General for Ports and Maritime Transport of the Government of the Balearic Islands, who called for the modernization of the maritime transport services through an integrated approach that combines efficiency and sustainability. Mr. Filip Reinhag also contributed to the same discussion, presenting a practical example of sustainable maritime transport in his region: replacing traditional ferries with electric alternatives. He also renewed Gotland’s commitment to advancing electric aviation development as part of his effort to enhance sustainable hospitality value.
The final panellist of the session, Mr. Joseph borg, President of INSULEUR (Network of Islands the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union) focused on the TENT-T Directive. He emphasized several concrete steps necessary for the benefit of islands and filling the gap with mainland Europe, including targeting EU funding to island needs (such as those linked to green ports, electric ferries, alternative fuels’ sources) and the expansion of green corridors, specifically for islands regions.
Diving into the tourism topic, Mr. Thomas Bajada, Member of the European Parliament, highlighted the challenges faced by islands while dealing with overtourism, particularly the dissatisfaction of inhabitants and environmental degradation. To address these issues, he argued that managing the touristic flows needs to be coupled with high-value visitor experiences that protect local ecosystems and promote cultural heritage. Achieving this requires a mindset shift across all Europe, from the citizens to the local and national authorities and the EU institutions.
Finally, Mr. José Manuel Sanabria, Deputy Minister of Tourism for the Government of the Canary Islands, pointed out that while tourism plays a key role both from a social and economic perspective, overtourism is leading to devasting effects, such as environmental degradation and housing market saturation, causing large citizens’ discontent. To mitigate this trend, he explained that the government plans to further invest in tools and initiatives to tackle climate change and foster decarbonization.
To conclude, during the CPMR General Assembly, Mr. Younous Omarjee, Vice President of the European Parliament in charge of relations with regions, cities, islands, and Outermost Regions, highlighted the critical role of the Cohesion Policy as a key regional policy, and underli ned that the creation of a European Parliament delegation for islands and Outermost Regions is a strong and promising signal of the priority being given to these issues at EU level. In this sense, he recalled the crucial role regions role play in the European Union as a driving force in implementing European democracy.
