Challenges for EU Island Economies
Islands tend to develop different approaches in order to be in a position to keep up with the social and economic development of other regions in mainland Europe. In order to foster entrepreneurship on islands, permanent solutions to circumvent the island dimension are necessary at both national and European level.
This was shared by Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business Dr Chris Cardona in his presentation during a seminar organised by the commission for economic policy of the European Committee of the Regions, entitled ‘Developing entrepreneurship in insular areas: challenges, opportunities and policy responses.’
Whilst a one size fits all approach may be counterproductive, islands’ potential could be better exploited through measures aimed at alleviating the constraints of insularity, such as improved trade and digital connections, as well as aid to foster entrepreneurship and economic development. Such measures would promote, and further enable the development, diversification, and further enhancement of islands’ local economy, particularly in island Member States and island regions.
The discussion concerning the challenges and opportunities that territories with geographic speci- ficities, including islands, face is an issue that the Maltese Presidency has taken on board, also as part of its programme for territorial cohesion. Minister Cardona noted how, with Malta having over 95% of its SMEs being microenterprises, the Maltese Presidency has a keen understanding of the challenges and the opportunities enterprises face in transforming their business plans into commercial viable projects. The Maltese Presidency aims to make the European Union the best place to conceive and grow business ideas.
“We are committed to build on the work of our trio colleagues, as well as laying the ground work for the upcoming trio, by making progress on the legislative dossiers issued under the Digital Single Market Strategy and under the Single Market Strategy on goods and services,” said the Minister.
The conference brought together key stakeholders, including politicians from different levels of government, entrepreneurs, as well as representatives of business organisations and EU institutions to discuss this key subject, raising continuous awareness and collating findings from the targeted delegates to further strengthen policy direction in this sector on a regional, national, and EU level.