Causes The Signing Ceremony of the Pact of Islands

40 European island politicians signed today in Brussels, the Pact of Islands making the political commitment to achieve the 20-20-20 objectives of the European Union for 2020. This pact is an initiative parallel to the Covenant of Mayors and was part of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week.

Approximately 3.5% of the European citizens live in islands and this percentage increases significantly during the high tourism season, adding pressure to the islands' ecosystems, transport systems, energy systems and water requirements.

Maria da Graça Carvalho participated in this initiative and during her intervention, spoke about the future of the Pact of Islands process, namely, about the vulnerability of islands to energy and climate change, about the development of the Pact of Islands in the future and about the need to find concrete solutions to infrastructure and funding problems. 

The President of the Committee of the Regions Mercedes Bresso also addressed the 40 island authorities focusing on territorial cohesion: "Energy and Territorial Cohesion are two new competences that the Lisbon Treaty attributed to the EU. Your Pact shows that with projects and cooperation we can turn the Treaty into reality.

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