27.12.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 493/59 Tuesday 7 June 2022
74.
Underlines that digitalisation and efficient digital connectivity for islands is an utmost priority, in particular to contribute to overcoming the geographical disadvantages they face and to enhance the provision of digital technologies and infrastructures, education and training services as well as e-health, including telemedicine and tele-psychiatry, and other essential government services for citizens and SMEs that bring positive effects for business strategies and operations;
75.
Stresses the importance of maintaining the digital infrastructures that connect EU islands to the rest of the world, namely by earmarking sufficient European funding for the replacement of obsolete submarine cables;
76.
Believes that, especially in small islands, it is difficult for SMEs to easily access all the information regarding the promotion of entrepreneurship, skills development and EU-funded opportunities; calls for stronger financial support in this regard as well as the provision of enhanced information sessions, advisory services and tailor-made training;
Migration
77.
Notes that some islands are faced with the arrival of large numbers of migrants, who sometimes far outnumber the local population, and that they are not in a position to supply the necessary means of accommodation and assistance;
78.
Draws attention to the specific and disproportionate pressure on asylum and reception systems in islands, peripheral islands and outermost regions; calls for the European action plan for islands to recognise the aforementioned asylum and migration reality, which requires coordinated solutions at European level which respect the well-being and dignity of the individual, while addressing the pressure;
Re-assessment of State aid schemes and measures to reduce the development deficit
79.
Calls on the Commission to produce an analysis of the volume of State aid granted to undertakings based in EU islands; considers it imperative, despite the efforts made by the EU and the Member States, to determine whether and to what extent undertakings located in island territories have benefited from such measures and to re-assess State aid rules accordingly; underlines, in this connection, the importance of more flexible State aid for air and maritime transport companies in these island territories, given their total dependence on these means of transport;
80.
Calls for any future revision of the legislative framework on State aid to be subject to impact assessments based on specific indicators to assess the lagging competitiveness of island region economies, also vis-à-vis the consequences of the ‘Fit for 55’ package on these territories, and to design a specific degressive scheme for island territories when the extraordinary measures provided for under the State Aid Temporary Framework end after 31 December 2021;
81.
Calls for the creation of an ‘islands’ sub-category, given their distinct characteristics, in connection with the application of the rules on regional State aid for the period 2021-2027, and the abolition of the ‘de minimis’ ceilings for European islands and outermost regions, above which the Commission’s authorisation is required;
82.
Stresses the need for a more flexible approach to ensure the more effective deployment of European funding in island territories and outermost regions, without compromising the relevant quality standards and monitoring procedures;
83.
Notes that the current de minimis rule restricts competitiveness and raises difficulties in European islands and outermost regions; is of the opinion that the EU’s islands should all be exempted from the applicable ceilings of the de minimis rule, so that they are at less of a disadvantage; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to adapt State aides rules to ensure that subsidies to remedy insularity are not considered as State aid but as compensation to put European islands and outermost regions on an equal footing with their continental counterparts;