Dr Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, begins a four-day visit to the Azores today. During his stay will be attending a conference on a European Maritime Policy and the Outermost Regions, hosted by the Regional Government of the Azores.

This is one of the first major consultation events organised on the Commission’s Green Paper on Maritime Policy, adopted on 7 June. Before then, he will attend a seminar organised by the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) on the Regions and Globalisation. He will also tour some fishing ports, and meet with elected representatives and stakeholders. “The outermost regions and, in particular, islands such as the Azores, provide a window onto the wider maritime world,” Joe Borg commented. “Their experience of the sea is invaluable and their contribution particularly important for the success of the consultation process on a Maritime Policy for the Union.”

Commissioner Borg’s visit will take him first to the Regions and Globalisation Study Seminar, organised by the CPMR, in Ponta Delgada. The European Maritime Policy Conference will begin on Sunday evening with a formal reception hosted by the President of the Regional Government, Carlos Cesar. The conference will be formally opened on Monday morning by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Commissioner Borg will take part in the opening session. His speech will focus on the relevance of the Commission’s Green Paper to the opportunities and challenges facing the Outermost Regions of the Union.

Following the opening session, Jaime Silva, Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, will host a lunch for the Commissioner, which will be followed by a formal meeting with Mr Cesar.