” “Two days about the problems of the seven "ultra-peripheral" regions (UPR) of the European Union, that is: the Canaries, the Azores, Madeira, Guyana, Guadalupe, Martinique and Reunion. The initiative is promoted by the EU Commission, considering "it will not only discuss the future of these regions, but also issues relating to "all of Europe". For the period 2007-2013, the EU will invest 7.9 billion euros in these areas. The world conference that is taking place today and tomorrow in Brussels will be attended by the political leaders of the seven regions, those of the States concerned (France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands), those of the EU institutions, "as well as socio-professional experts and parties". The items on the agenda are four: population development and migratory flows, climate change, the future of agriculture, and the role of UPRs in the maritime dimension of the Union. The MEP Danuta Hubner comments: "This conference paves the way to a discussion of the problems of the ultra-peripheral regions and their potential contribution to the whole of the EU". The meeting also relates to the "Green Paper on territorial cohesion that the EU Commission will have to submit this year".
