President Louis Mussington's visit to Barcelona

The President of the Collectivité of Saint-Martin, Louis MUSSINGTON, travelled to Barcelona, ​​Spain, on November 20 and 21, to participate in the 53rd General Assembly of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of the EU (CPMR).

The General Assembly was held in a unique context: the start of negotiations on the next programming period 2028-2034, following the publication of the Commission's legislative proposals. Several topics of interest were discussed between representatives of the Member States, the European Commission, and the European Parliament, including competitiveness, the future of the EU budget, how the regions are integrated into it, and the role of the regions in the European Pact for the Oceans and maritime and fisheries policy.

As every year, the members of the CPMR adopted a final Declaration defending a territorialized approach and recalling that territorial cohesion and the role of regions must be at the heart of the next European budget.

President Mussington also participated in the General Assembly of the CPMR Islands Commission, of which the Collectivité of Saint-Martin is a member. He further reiterated Saint-Martin's priorities, including expectations regarding the future European strategy for outermost regions, as well as the numerous challenges Saint-Martin continues to face: the very high cost of living and the challenges of social cohesion.

After highlighting the many strengths of our regions and the need to leverage them, President Louis Mussington concluded his remarks by emphasizing the importance of adopting a truly differentiated and tailored approach to the new strategy for the outermost regions and the upcoming European Union funding programs. The members of the Islands Commission adopted the 2025-2027 action plan.