Daniel Borg highlights relevance of ‘island dimension’ in policy-making at INSULEUR General Assembly

Gozo Business Chamber CEO Daniel Borg highlights the importance of taking an "island dimension" into consideration when it comes to policy-making.

His message was conveyed during a recent event in Spain. Mr Borg attended The Network of Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the EU (INSULEUR) General Assembly held between 30th November and 2nd December in Gran Canaria. Hosted by the Cámara de Comercio de Gran Canaria, and organized by the Canary Islands Regional Government the event focused on sustainable tourism. 

During this event, the CEO spoke about the impact that the proposed taxation on aviation fuels, will have on European islands. Here he was referring to the EU's proposal to progressively increase the aviation fuel tax by 10 per cent every year. Mr Borg insisted that "whether local, national or international it is important that 'island dimension' is adopted in policy making."

The consequences of globalisation highlight the fact that promoting and achieving sustainable development is of utmost importance for insular regions in the European Union. In this regard, INSULEUR was set up in 2000 with the aim of improving economic and social conditions in European insular regions which make daily efforts to cope with the physical difficulties of their insular nature.

The Gozo Business Chamber CEO also recently spoke at another event, this time in Malta. In fact, Mr Borg participated in the 'Malta Diġitali' event organised by the Ministry for the Economy, EU funds and Lands where he "spoke about Gozo's reality when it comes to the uptake of e-commerce, and when it comes to assisting micro businesses to embrace this reality."