Canaries will host the ministerial meeting between France, Spain and Portugal to study a strategy for the outermost regions.

The meeting, organized by Spanish presidency of the European Union, the three RUP and sign a joint Memorandum which set out the objectives, as well as priorities of the model of integration of these territories into the EU from 2013 taking into account new challenges and challenges they face and by reference to the Strategic Document on the 'New European Strategy to the outermost regions', approved by the outermost regions in October, the government said in a press release canary.

Also, is scheduled to attend the meeting, which was held at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Secretaries of State for the European Union of Spain and Portugal, Diego Lopez Garrido and Peter Lourtie, respectively, the Minister Overseas France, Marie-Luce Plenchardy, and the presidents of the outermost regions (Canaries, Azores, Guadeloupe, Guyana, La Reunion, Madeira, Martinique, St. Bartholomew and St. Martin), led by Paulino Rivero.

The meeting will also address the new Commissioner of Regional Policy of the European Commission, Johannes Hahnn, who may know "first hand the reality" of the outermost regions.

The remoteness as a "state policy"

For his part, Commissioner for External Affairs, Elsa Casas, ensure approval of this Memorandum will allow the remoteness "be treated as a state policy and extend the guarantees to ensure progress in the development of a comprehensive policy and specify" for ORs to enhance their value added and allowed to compete "on equal terms" than other European regions.

Casas recalled that the ministerial meeting is part of a roadmap designed to take advantage of "the maximum" the Spanish presidency and comply with "one of the main targets adopted by the Canaries during the presidency of the ORs (2009-2010), as is the consolidate a firm and solid political base "to tackle" successful "negotiations to begin in early 2011 in Europe.

He added that the Memorandum set of the three states and the ORs responds to the commitment by France, Spain and Portugal entered into at the Fifteenth Conference of Presidents of the RUP, held last October in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, to fix its position with about the future of the outermost regions in the EU.

In this sense, indicated that the memorandum will be presented and discussed in Brussels this month, on the occasion of the celebration of the First European Forum remoteness, the European Commission and the Spanish presidency of the EU are scheduled on 27 and 28 May.

Finally, the European agenda in the Canary Islands was completed in May with a meeting of 27 representatives of the States of the EU in Brussels, where the regional Executive will disclose to the main partners of the States in Brussels the reality of the ORs taking as an example to the Canaries.

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