Tonino Picula, Croatian Member of the European Parliament and former president, now vice-president of the SEARICA intergroup responsible for islands, delivered a speech at the island connectivity conference, reminding of the key role his initiative had in integrating islands into European policy.
Picula, as one of the co-founders of SEARICA (the Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas Intergroup) and its former president (2019), raised the issue of the specific needs of island communities at the European level back in 2014. Today, more than ten years later, islands are no longer a blind spot for European institutions.
„We have the SEARICA intergroup in the European Parliament, the Secretariat for Clean Energy for EU islands, which has been operating for seven years, and the islands are explicitly mentioned in the Green Deal“, emphasized the Croatian MEP in his speech.
He also reminded of the Memorandum signed in Split in 2020 on strengthening energy policies on the islands and numerous EU projects being implemented on islands across the Union.
The central theme of the meeting was the connectivity of the islands - an issue that MEP Picula describes as a matter of 'vital importance', not luxury. 'Reliable maritime connections are crucial for access to healthcare, education, trade, and mobility,' he emphasized, pointing out that islands lag behind the mainland in development by an average of 20%, have less access to public services, and higher product prices.
One of the solutions sees in a stronger involvement of small islands in the European transport networks (TEN-T) and in providing significant funds from the Cohesion Fund and ERDF for innovations in tourism and green transition.
He particularly highlighted the Habitability project developed in Sweden, which is used to develop island policies in Finland.
„My office financed his further adaptation and expansion to the Mediterranean“, Picula said. This is an approach based on civic science, which starts from the fact that islanders are the best experts for their own communities. „As long as the logistics are efficient and sufficient, island societies have all the prerequisites for survival“, he concluded.
„Integration does not only mean the expansion of the EU, but also the adaptation of policies to prevent the geographical isolation of island communities“, Picula emphasized the need to continue promoting the island agenda.
