INSULEUR (Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union) together with The Gozo Business Chamber (GBC), organised the 13th INSULEUR Forum in Gozo with the topic “Europe 2020 Strategy in Insular Regions through active citizenship.”

The key speakers were Merja Haapakka, DG Regio, European Commission; Dr Gordon Cordina, University of Malta; and Thanos Kontargyris, Coordinator of the SMILIES MED project.

The Forum was formally opened by Juan Gual de Torrella and Michael Grech, Presidents of INSULEUR and of GBC respectively, while welcome speeches were made by Dr Grazio Mercieca on behalf of the Minister for Gozo who could not attend due to a Parliamentary sitting, and by Dr Samuel Azzopardi, President of the Gozo Region.

During the Forum, three Plenary Sessions were held. The first session, dealt with Europe 2020 Strategy Implementation and Islands and was chaired by Manuel Tabone the Director, Tourism and Economic Development within the Ministry for Gozo, while the speakers were Kostas Vlachos from the Ministry of the Economy (Greece); Eleytherios Kechagioglou, Representative of ESIN, and Clyde Caruana who spoke on behalf of Minister Evarist Bartolo.

During the second session, which was chaired by John Magro, Managing Director of Magro Group, the speakers presented initiatives which were undertaken by the Chambers of Commerce of Cyclades, Guadeloupe, Mallorca, Rijeka and Rethimno.

The third session was chaired by Joyce Dimech, Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Gozo, and dealt with the Response of the European Institutions. The speakers included Merja Haapakka from the DG Regio, European Commission, Roberta Metsola from the European Parliament and Anna Maria Darmanin from the EESC.

The Forum was also attended by representatives of Maltese entities and business organisations as well as by HE the Spanish Ambassador.

According the Mr George Asonitis, Advisor and Expert on European Affairs, “The Forum was extremely important. We had high quality interventions and discussions. INSULEUR and the GBC reinforced their image vis-à-vis the European institutions.”

Interventions made during the Forum will be uploaded on the INSULEUR website www.insuleur.com.

Photos – From top left, Mr Juan Gual de Torella, President of INSULEUR, delivering his opening address. Mr Michael Grech, President of The Gozo Business Chamber, delivering his opening address and below, some of the participants at the Forum.

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