On 9 February Marie Antoinette Maupertuis, member of the Executive Council of the Territorial Community of Corsica met with Mr Tonino Picula Member of the European Parliament and Vice president of SEARICA intergroup to exchange views on promoting Entrepreneurship and territorial cohesion in islands.

Ms Maupertuis and Mr Picula agreed to join forces to ensure islands receive adequate support from the European Union. The millions of people living in islands deserve the same attention as those living in urban areas and EU should take into account of islands' specificities when defining future EU policies. Although islands have to cope with constraints due to their small size, remoteness and vulnerability, they have also proved to be extremely resilient and they have implemented growth strategies on harnessing their economic, social, environmental, natural cultural  assets. Islands entrepreneurs have to bear additional costs (transport , raw material , energy)  which hugely impact on the competitiveness of their products.

It is necessary that a framework is set enabling islands to attract human and financial capital thus contributing to inclusive growth and job creation.