The belgian capital will host on 27th and 28th May 2010 the first edition of the Forum for Outermost Europe, in the framework of new Lisbon Treaty. The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, will inaugurate the event.

In its 2008 communication entitled "The outermost regions: an asset for Europe", the Commission undertook to organise, jointly with the Member States and outermost regions, a biennial Forum for Outermost Europe.

This event will take place on 27 and 28 May, during the Spanish Presidency of the EU, within the strategic context of defining the European Union's political priorities towards 2020 and in view of recent activities (the Memorandum of the Outermost Regions and joint work undertaken with Member States).

The aim is to improve dialogue with these regions and raise their profile within the EU. This will involve:

• Raising awareness among European decision-makers (representatives of the Member States, MEPs, representatives of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee) in relation to the specific characteristics and potential of these regions
• Offering a "showcase" and a forum for expression for the ORs in Brussels: enabling them to establish exchanges with each other and engage in dialogue directly with European decision-makers
• Facilitating the exchange of experience and best practices between actors in the ORs.

Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union has had nine outermost regions: the four French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion and Martinique, two French overseas collectivities, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, the Portuguese Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, and the Spanish Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.

The Forum is open to all actors interested in the place of the outermost regions in the European Union, in particular:

• Community institutions and bodies
• Regional authorities of the outermost regions
• Representatives of the 27 Member States (representations in Brussels, ministries)
• Researchers, academics, socio-professional representatives, entrepreneurs, NGOs
• Representatives of regional political and economic groups (Cariforum, Caribbean Export, Indian Ocean Commission, ECOWAS)