Tonino Picula is one of Croatia’s Members of European Parliament.
The European Small Islands Federation (ESIN) has selected Croatia’s Member of European Parliament (MEP) Tonino Picula as a member who, in the current convocation, has done the most in the interests of European islands and decided to nominate him for the award for the best MEP in the category of regional development, reports tportal.hr on November 13, 2017.
The European Small Islands Federation is an association representing 360,000 islanders living on 1,640 small European islands. It acts both locally and at the European level with the aim of developing island policies and advocating for the interests of the islanders.
In a vote, federation members had to choose between five finalists (Alyn Smith from Scotland, Matt Carthy from Ireland, Maria Spyrakis from Greece, Iskra Mihaylova from Bulgaria, and Picula). They elected Picula with as much as 76 percent of the votes, adding that he initiated essential changes in the EU’s attitude towards the islands and had been a driving force in securing financial support for the islands.
In accordance with the decision of the membership, the ESIN nominated Picula for the award as the best MEP in the category of regional development. The prize is awarded by The Parliament Magazine, with the aim of giving recognition to MEPs who have contributed significantly to the legislative, supervisory or budgetary role of the European Parliament through their parliamentary activities.
In explaining the selection and nomination, members of the Federation pointed out that Picula was a true representative of the interests of the islanders and concluded that “he is a man who has done a lot for all European, and not just for his Croatian islands, which is why the ESIN proudly nominates him as an outstanding promoter of the development of the island regions.”
“I deeply believe in projects I work on as a Member of the European Parliament. I am proud that my work is recognised by a very sensitive population – the islanders. This recognition comes after our Water Saving projects recently received the Greening Island award, and I see it as another confirmation of everything we are trying to achieve for the islands,” said Picula.
MEP Tonino Picula is the Vice Chairman of the Sea, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas Intergroup in the European Parliament. He is one of the authors of the Resolution on the special situation of islands, and he is a cosponsor of a two million euros amendment for renewable energy island projects. He is also the initiator of the Water Saving Challenge project, which includes Croatian islands of Vis and Lastovo and which has recently been awarded the Greening Island prize in the category of sustainable water management.
Translated from tportal.hr.
