Newsletter 1/2009

NEWS FROM EUROPE

The European Small Islands Federation ESIN wishes you a happy new year 2009! Here follows a short version of the ESIN newsletter, January 2009.

European politics on islands in 2008, three highlights:

1) Initiating regular exchanges between islanders of Europe

On the 29th and 30th of May, Elba hosted a European conference on Minor Islands initiated by Catalina Schezzini, the President of ANCIM, the representative organization for the inhabited small islands of Italy, in collaboration with the Tuscany Region. The conference was proceeded for the entire week by seminars and workshops on various themes. On this occasion, many islanders had the opportunity to voice the reality of islands life, their common problems, the solutions found, their expectations towards the mainland authorities, etc. The success of this first event encourages ANCIM to organize a second « INSULAE » meeting which is supposed to take place in September 2009 on Elba on the same occasion of ESIN 9th AGM.

2) Increasing cooperation with DG regio

Mr Dirk Ahner, General Director of DG regio, invited ESIN in Brussels to discuss small islands issues. The first meeting enables ESIN to get better known by DG Regio and to expose its expectations towards the European Commission. Mr Ahner listened to ESIN’s demands and checked out the possibilities to give ESIN appropriate tools so that to help answering small islands’ issues. This first meeting resulted in a second meeting in December during which Mr Ahner brought some answers to ESIN. A third meeting is to be organized during the first half of 2009 in the continuation of this fruitful cooperation.The 2nd meeting enabled to reviews the effective possibilities and tools in this same perspective.

Here are the main conclusions:

Better representation and regular contacts in Brussels: there is an opportunity in setting an Island Inter-Service Group (ISG). A ISG is a way to exchange information and improve transparency.
Meetings with different EC services and with the stakeholder (in this case, ESIN) are organized, so that to bring different positions together and to try to find an answer which suit every one. Another way for ESIN to cooperate with other DGs on specific subjects would be to provide the European Commission good surveys on situations on the ground as an expert.
Statistics: ESIN is involved in an ESPON project dedicated to islands (Euroislands) which will officially start in February. This project aims at improving statistics on islands, including small islands.
National governments: the different avenues suggested (ISG, statistics) will hopefully help getting better consideration from national governments. ESIN have also great hope that the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion will help territories with natural handicaps, amongst which small islands, to be more integrated in EU and National policies. ESIN is and will always be a small organization within the EU framework as it represents marginal territories. ESIN will keep on cooperating with DG region having great hope that this collaboration will benefit everyone.

3) Lobbying together: Group 158

Group 158 is an umbrella alliance which aims at monitoring whether the provisions of Art 158 of the Lisbon Treaty regarding territories with permanent natural or demographic handicaps are being satisfactorily implemented by the European Union. Group 158, bring together islands as well as mountains and regions of low density population, among others 400 000 people living on small islands. Within such an alliance - Euromontana/ESIN/CPMR as well as INSULEUR would need to pull together to brief MEP’s regularly to achieve any significant changes.

This is expected to be a means to create a nucleus of MEP’s within the EU parliament who could push for a more flexible approach in legislative matters as long as we could promote a sense of solidarity between all these regions. In this perspective, a meeting was organized in Paris last December to agree in principle on the way to push forward with group 158. The idea was indeed to identify key targets of common interest between the stakeholders as well as to draft a common political program for 2009. In view of the political & economical uncertainties, especially as regards the fate of the Lisbon Treaty, of the next elections to the European Parliament, its was agreed to carry on an informal cooperation by each of the stakeholders in position papers, and especially in the different contributions to the green papers, by sharing useful information, by organizing regular meetings (the next joint meeting will be held in Brussels in the 2nd half of the year.)

Please, take note of ESIN's website: www.europeansmallislands.net. You will find much information on ESIN members and the various islands they represented, many contacts, a forum and regular news, etc.

ESIN expect to initiate an INTERREG IV c program in 2009. Suggestions and proposals are very welcome! Please, contact the secretariat: , telephone + 33 (0) 2 97 56 64 74, mobile +33 (0) 6 87 58 23 06.

Additional information

FÖSS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FINNISH ISLANDS

Secretary
Kristin Mattsson

040 5684 870 (intl +358 40 5684 870)

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