The EU and islands of Europe unite to jointly address the challenges of island life in the European Union.
The new push for the Interregional Group, to which the Balearic Islands belong, seeks to give the islands a voice in community policies.
The Interregional Group of Island Regions met today in Brussels within the framework of the European Committee of the Regions plenary session, with the aim of bringing together representatives of islands from across the European Union to address the specific challenges of island life and promote tailored solutions in areas such as transport, climate, and economic development.
The relaunch of this group comes at a key moment, just before the start of negotiations on the future of the next European Union multiannual budget, scheduled for after 2027. Island regions are working to ensure that their geographical and socioeconomic realities are recognized and taken into account in European policymaking.
The islands face challenges intensified by their geographical location: depopulation, the consequences of climate change, the need to strengthen territorial cohesion, and a growing sense of disconnection from state and European institutions.
“It is essential that the island regions are united and work hand in hand to present our needs to the European institutions, both those we face jointly and the more specific ones, because it is a fact that all island regions share disadvantages due to our territorial discontinuity with the continent, but it is also true that each one has its own particularities and its own challenges,” said the Director General of Institutional Relations and with the Government of the Balearic Islands, Xesca Ramis.
The interregional group seeks to create equal opportunities by adapting transport and investment policies to overcome the barriers of island-based communities. It also supports the transition to sustainable and circular economies and promotes local entrepreneurship and innovation. It also aims to improve data collection and encourage the creation of dedicated bodies within the EU to strengthen the political representation of islands.
In addition to the Balearic Islands, the Interregional Group also includes the Canary Islands, Malta, Cyprus, the Azores, Sardinia, Sicily, Ireland, and island regions of Greece, Denmark, and Finland. Together, the European islands face common challenges with the aim of making the group a stable space for dialogue, cooperation, and political action serving the European island territories.