The President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, Rubina Leal, has urged that the region's development should not be used as an argument to decrease European support.
Leal made this statement during the visit of a delegation of ten MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI), led by Younous Omarjee, the Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for outermost regions.
The visit comes at a crucial time for discussions on the future of cohesion policy and the EU's next long-term budget. Rubina Leal emphasized that permanent factors such as distance, insularity, and additional costs continue to affect Madeira, advocating for the application of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to ensure differentiated EU funding.
Younous Omarjee highlighted the importance of understanding Madeira's specificities and the impact of cohesion policy on the ground, assuring that the mission will bring this reality to the European debate. The MEPs will visit various projects in areas such as energy, housing, and transport during their three-day stay.
