"That long-desired recognition for the Islands will be ratified tomorrow, which will lead to the revision of European legislation with the aim of making it more responsive to the challenges of our territories that crises such as the pandemic make even more critical".
This was stated by the President of the Region, Christian Solinas, on the eve of the vote on the Omarjee resolution with which, for the first time, the European Parliament assumes an institutional commitment in favor of island territorial specificity in European policies. The resolution, asking that the EU take into account the specific characteristics of the islands, aims to arrive at the definition of a common European policy.
"The EU islands - remarks Solinas - despite being legally recognized as disadvantaged territories, do not benefit from specific aid , yet the permanent disadvantages do not allow territories such as Sardinia equal opportunities for development and access to the market and produce an increase in costs which translates into in delays and weaknesses in the socio-economic development process ".
The governor recalls the driving role of the island and does not forget the commitment on the national front : "We must continue along the path started on revenues, which thanks to the agreements signed with the government has led to a reduction of 77 million a year in the contribution to public finance, allowing Sardinia to save 308 million over the next four years, and has assigned the first 66 million to our island from 2021 to compensate for the higher costs incurred on the basis of the condition of insularity, which become 100 million per year when fully operational ".
Sardinia is the leader of the Partnership of the peripheral island regions of the Mediterranean - also made up of the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Crete, Gozo, the Ionian Islands - and has brought the island question to the center of the Conference on the future of Europe.
(Unioneonline / L)