The Municipality of Chalki welcomes and warmly congratulates the European Commission for its historic commitment to proceed, within this year, to the adoption of the first EU Strategy for Islands, with a distinct and integrated policy framework that recognises the specific needs of insularity.
The Commission’s official response, on behalf of Ursula von der Leyen, the Executive Vice-President and the Commissioners responsible, clearly confirms that the islands of the European Union are now treated as a separate political priority, in full compliance with Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
For small islands, such as Chalki, this development is a vindication of a long-standing collective effort and at the same time an essential opportunity for European policies to be designed in terms of insularity, real needs and local specificities.
The Municipality of Chalki congratulates the Hellenic Small Islands Network and all those who worked with consistency, documentation and perseverance at national and European level, contributing decisively to the shaping of this new European perspective for the islands.
Chalki, as a small island that operates as a living laboratory for sustainable development, energy transition and innovation, is ready to actively contribute to the dialogue and the co-design of the EU Strategy for Islands, so that it can be translated into tangible results for local communities.
These news are not the end of an effort, but the beginning of a new European path for the islands.