FGE-Galicia News

Santiago de Compostela, 23 July 2019. The Fundación Galicia Europa will continue to work at the highest level to continue defending the interests of our community before the European Union in the negotiations of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 and in the negotiations of the Brexit, as explained today the vice-president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, in the meeting of the board of trustees of the Fundación Galicia Europa that took place this morning in the FGE"s office in Santiago.

During the meeting, the negotiations of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework were also analysed, as the Galician Government continues to work to ensure that the galician community continues to receive the european aid that corresponds to it in the next budgetary period and that our specific characteristics are taken into account in the distribution of european funds. In addition, the Fundación Galicia Europa will closely follow the Brexit process as Galicia may be affected.

The members of the Board of Trustees also addressed the work carried out during the first semester of 2019, as well as some of the lines of action proposed for this second semester, since one of the main priorities marked in the roadmap of the FGE is to give continuity to the work of promoting the Xacobeo 2021. Another priority will be to support Galician participation in the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC 2019), which will be held in October in the Community capital. This annual event, organised by the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission"s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, brings together more than 6,000 attendees and 600 speakers in an official programme with more than 300 events on European regional and local policies, in which the FGE participates by organising four events by Galician entities. The entity"s participation in the EWRC will coincide, in time and space, with the first of the two editions of its TecEuropa programme of specialisation in community financing.

The Director General of External and EU Relations of the Xunta, Jesús Gamallo, reviewed the activities carried out by the FGE during 2018, highlighting in particular its work in organising and supporting the 17 official visits to Brussels by the Galician officials. The FGE also promoted Galician participation in 10 debate forums in the European capital, also facilitating the presence of Galician members to 23 acts of the European Committee of the Regions, a body of the EU where Galicia is represented along with the rest of the European regions and municipalities.

2018 was an intense year for the Foundation in terms of high-level political and technical meetings, training activities and negotiations with the EU institutions and the different European agents; especially in the context of the prevailing uncertainty regarding the future way out of the United Kingdom of the Union, an exit whose final date was set for 31 October.

To comply with its founding principle of informing about the EU, the Foundation published 140 news items on its web portal (www.fundaciongaliciaeuropa.eu) throughout the year, increasing the number of users by a third with respect to the previous year and reaching nearly 100 daily visits. Jesús Gamallo underlined how special emphasis was placed on information and awareness about the UK"s exit from the EU when he launched the Brexit Galician Forum. In fact, three events were held within the framework of this forum to address the future repercussions of Brexit on the Galician economy and a new website (brexitgalicia.eu) was launched to gather the news and give more visibility to the information on the British exit process from the EU analysed from a Galician perspective.

Gamallo also highlighted how the FGE virtual community experienced a 20% year-on-year increase in the number of followers in their profiles on social networks. This increase was influenced by the online communication campaign launched by the FGE in February with the aim of mobilising the Galician population to vote in the last European elections, through an interactive contest on social media under the title of #GaliciavotanaUE.

From the formative point of view, in addition to the six internship holders who annually do internships in the Brussels and Santiago offices, the FGE organised two new editions of its specialisation programme in community financing "TecEuropa" in which 40 experts and technicians from the Galician public sector participated, as well as organising two training courses within the LIDERA and Eurocity Chaves-Verín projects. In support of Galician participation in European projects, FGE published 45 summaries of calls for European projects and 18 partner searches on its portal, hosting five meetings of European projects with Galician participation in areas such as health, training, digitisation and energy efficiency at its office in Brussels.