| Counselor Ana Martínez Vidal has chaired the Interdepartmental Commission in charge of planning and coordinating the external action of all the ministries of the Administration regional | The Interdepartmental Commission for External Action and the European Union, the body in charge of planning and coordinating the Community's external action, met today to constitute its current configuration, in an act chaired by the Minister for Enterprise, Industry and Spokesperson, Ana Martínez Vidal. The counselor stressed "the great challenges of the regional government in the European and international sphere, such as the new agenda for sustainable development, a new European Commission, a new Parliament and a new mandate of the European Committee of the Regions since January " "Today more than ever we must be able to articulate and match our policies and strategies to the international and European agenda to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that the European Union offers us," said Martínez Vidal. "Currently, all the ministries are involved in European projects, with initiatives in Health, Social Services, the Environment, Erasmus and Innovation, as well as supporting international cooperation projects for development, mainly through calls for grants to NGOs," he explained.
the regional government spokeswoman.
Thus, this forum "serves to put on the table the broad lines and regional strategies and mark common lines of defense of the interests of the Region," he said. Active role of the Region of Murcia The Autonomous Community establishes institutional, political, commercial and cultural relations with countries inside and outside the European Union, in addition to being part of various interregional organizations for the defense of common interests and for cooperation.
The communities have competences that involve tasks of relevance in economic and social life, not only outside their territory but even outside the territorial limits of Spain. The Region of Murcia plays a very active role in the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions, the Assembly of Euro-Mediterranean Regions and Local Entities, the Network of Intercultural Regions of social affairs, the Research and Innovation Network, the European Network of Regional Development Agencies and collaborations with UN agencies such as Unesco or the United Nations Development Program. In addition, in recent years the participation of the public sector in European projects that provide the Region with opportunities for internationalization and improved competitiveness has increased. The regions in the last decade have a growing prominence in the international sphere, since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on December 1, 2009, the regional reality gained weight in the Union.
In particular, the participation of the Committee of the Regions in the EU institutions was reinforced and control of the principle of subsidiarity is promoted, whereby all decisions should be made as close as possible to citizens.
