The director of PLOCAN, José Joaquín Hernández Brito, participated in the Plaza de San Miguel de Tazacorte in the Squares of Europe tour, a meeting point project of the European Commission to promote this activity in a transparent way, and promote European values of democracy, solidarity and peace.
The citizen’s meeting in Tazacorte square is part of the actions being taken by the European Union to inform the citizens of peripheral and/or outermost regions of European environmental policies, the importance of the EU’s role for scientific and technological progress in the regions, and the work of the European Commission to improve the lives of all EU members.
The Squares of Europe brought together David Ruiz, Mayor of Tazacorte; Yannis Virvilis, Head of Communication of the EC Representation in Spain; Blas Acosta, Deputy Minister of Economy and Internationalization of the Canary Islands Government; Raquel Díaz, Councillor for Economic Promotion, Employment, Trade, Tourism and Sports of the Cabildo de La Palma; José Joaquín Hernández, director of PLOCAN; Anselmo Sosa, manager of the IAC’s Office of Transfer and Institutional Actions; Jorge Pazos, Canary representative in the citizen panels of the Conference on the Future of Europe; and Lucas Pérez, secretary of the Canary Council of the European Movement and Director of the International Campus of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; among other authorities and representatives of the La Palma society.
The director of PLOCAN highlighted all the actions being carried out in La Palma and all the projects being worked on, mostly financed by the European Union, stressing the importance of being members of the Commission for technological and scientific development in Spain.
The Squares of Europe initiative emphasises that the rural and natural environment must be recognised for the future of Europe, proposing a citizens’ dialogue on European environmental and sustainable consumption policies, and the importance of the EU for the scientific and technological advancement of the Canary Islands through its support to leading research institutions. It also sets out how the European Commission is working to improve the lives of citizens in towns, small towns and rural areas, and the outermost regions, and value local production and the role of EU standards as a boost to product quality and internationalisation, as well as quality assurance for consumers.