Conference of Presidents

The Conference of Presidents of the ORs is the main structure for political and technical cooperation between the Presidents of the executive bodies of the Azores, the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion and Saint-Martin.

Cooperation objectives

The Conference sets out the OR cooperation guidelines and carries out the following essential tasks:

• Coordinating their joint action and adopting common positions to defend OR interests at the level of European Union;
• Strengthening European action with regard to the ORs, on the basis of the provisions of the Treaties;
• Defending OR common interests in all European and international organizations with regional purpose in which they are represented;
• Strengthening cooperation between the outermost regions in joint cooperation projects.

Organization and functioning

The presidency of the Conference rotates for a period of at least one year. It meets in ordinary session at least once a year, in the region holding the presidency, and adopts its conclusions in the form of a final declaration in which the common political positions of the outermost regions are reflected.

The Conference:

• Defines and promotes the key strategic political orientations of this cooperation;
• Represents the common interests of outermost regions within European institutions, bodies and organizations;
• Chooses among its members a rotating presidency of the Conference, for a period of at least one year;
• Adopts all decisions necessary to achieve cooperation objectives.