The president of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, wrote to the president of the European Council, António Costa, calling for the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to “maintain specific allocations” for the outermost regions.
In the letter sent to António Costa and to which the Lusa agency had access this Monday, 10th, the leader of the Azorean executive of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition states that he wrote to the president of the European Council “driven by a need and a sign of confidence”.
“The need arises from a position specific to the Autonomous Region of the Azores, which defends a change in the European Commission’s proposal on the future MFF after 2027. The sign of trust arises from our institutional and personal knowledge of its person and capabilities”, he explains.
Bolieiro emphasizes that he writes to António Costa as president of the European Council, “but also accompanied by his recognized competence to exercise his skillful judiciary of influence in the leadership of this decisive institution of the European Union”.
In the letter, the leader of the Regional Government of the Azores argues that the next MFF “maintains specific allocations for the ORs, POSEI, as well as co-financing rates at 85%, adjusted to their limitations, and maintains a model of effective participation in the definition and execution of policies that concern them”.
“The full integration of the ORs into European programs is essential to guarantee their participation in the Union’s development dynamics [Europeia]”, vinca.
Attached to the letter, José Manuel Bolieiro sent Costa the communication he gave in Brussels, on Thursday, which “details the position of the Regional Government of the Azores and substantiates the need to review the European Commission’s post-2027 MFF proposal”.
The president of the Government of the Azores defended in Brussels that the 2028-2034 MFF represents a “worrying setback” for the ORs, because it “eliminates the differentiation” of these regions within the European framework.
According to José Manuel Bolieiro, by “merging historical policies into a single fund, the so-called National and Regional Partnership Plans, the differentiation that has always characterized the European approach to the ORs is eliminated”.
The leader of the Azorean executive was speaking at a seminar promoted by the Eurodom association, founded in 1989 to represent the French outermost regions.
The chief executive of the Azores recalled that article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union “enshrines the obligation of differentiated policies adapted to the specificities of the ORs”.
“This principle has been the basis of more than three decades of European policies that have allowed concrete advances in the economic and social development of these regions. There is, therefore, no reason to back down from this commitment, which is legal, political and moral”, stated the president of the Government of the Azores.
According to Bolieiro, this “budget centralization dilutes territorial priorities, weakens regional autonomy and compromises the effectiveness of cohesion policy”.
Bolieiro stressed that the “absence of protected financial allocations for the OR threatens the progress achieved in economic and social convergence, putting food sovereignty, social stability and sustainable development of the regions at risk”.
The government official considered that the eventual elimination of POSEI – Program of Specific Options for the Remoteness and Insularity of the ORs, and support for structuring production chains, “would be disastrous for the Azores, which are heavily dependent on imports”, and should be “maintained and reinforced in the next MFF”.
In July, the European Commission proposed a new long-term EU budget for 2028-2034 of two billion euros, up from the current framework’s 1.2 billion, which includes more national contributions and three new taxes.