Rosa María Balas, President of the Executive Committee of the European Academy of Yuste Foundation and its General Manager of External Action, stated today that the main goals of the Directorate-General include “emigration and international political cooperation” because there are currently over six hundred thousand emigrants from Extremadura who left the region in the nineteen fifties and sixties, twenty thousand of whom live outside Spain. In her opinion, “they are our best ambassadors abroad and as much citizens of Extremadura as those who live here, and therefore we have to attend to their needs”.
She made these declarations this morning during her speech at the Meeting with Twitters titled “30 years on: Conference on Europe, communication and networks” organized by the Representative Office of the European Parliament in Spain in collaboration with the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, held since Wednesday until today in Jarandilla de la Vera.
Balas indicated that it is important for the second and third generations of Extremaduran emigrants to understand “the reality of Extremadura”, as well as its uniqueness and peculiarities, and therefore it is necessary “to establish a link between the young people who have left and their roots”. She indicated that External Action is “a window to the world through which information must flow in both directions”.
The meeting was also attended by Ignacio Samper, Director of the Representative Office of the European Parliament in Spain, who said that “Extremadura is one of the most proactive regions in communicating Europe”. In this sense, Balas pointed out that the region is renowned for its high turnout in European elections.
The meeting forms part of the activities organized by the European Parliament to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Spain becoming a member of the European Union, bringing together experts, bloggers and tweeters to analyse the different challenges facing Europe, such as immigration, employment, equality, etc.
