12 th Annual General Meeting European Small Islands Federation Isle of Mull, Scotland, 20 th of September 2012 MINUTES LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Dorthe Winther Association of Danish Small Islands Denmark Eva Terkelsen Association of Danish Small Islands Denmark Lise Soerensen Association of Danish Small Islands Denmark Tina Johansson National Association of Finnish Islands Finland Kristin Mattsson National Association of Finnish Islands Finland Pia Prost National Association of Finnish Islands Finland Bruno Noury Association «Les Iles du Ponant» France Christian Pleijel Företagsam Skärgård Åland Sandy Brunton Scottish Islands Federation Scotland Camille Dressler Scottish Islands Federation Scotland Alastair Fleming Scottish Islands Federation Scotland Mike Craigie Scottish Islands Federation Scotland Dianna Whyte North Ayrshire Council Scotland John Walsh Irish Islands Federation Ireland Jackie Sullivan Irish Islands Federation Ireland Bengt Almkvist National Association of the Swedish Archipelago Sweden Eva Widlund National Association of the Swedish Archipelago Sweden Lennart Andersson National Association of the Swedish Archipelago Sweden Anetté Larm Johansson National Association of the Swedish Archipelago Sweden Anna-Karin Utbult Almkvist National Association of the Swedish Archipelago Sweden Marian Bennett FIRST - Friends of Scilly Isles Transport Scilly Isles ESIN minutes 12th AGM 1
1. Welcome and opening of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) Bengt Almkvist, chairman of ESIN, opened the meeting at 15.45 and welcomed all participants in the 12 th Annual General Meeting. Pia Prost was elected secretary for the meeting. 2. Election of member to check the minutes Lise Thilleman Soerensen from Denmark was elected to check the minutes. 3. Approval of the agenda Two further items were accepted for the agenda. 7a. Signing of the statutes 7b. Secretariat agreement 4. Adoption of the minutes from the annual general meeting 2011 The minutes from ESIN 11 th annual general meeting on Il d Yeu in France was adopted. 5. Chairman s report Bengt Almkvist, chairman of ESIN, gave a short activity report on events since last AGM. During the year, four board meetings have been held on Skype. The meetings were mostly focusing on economic matters and the secretariat of ESIN. A new homepage has been opened on www.europeansmallislands.com. ESIN is part in the Isle Pact on Energy cooperation, an assignment for EU on lowering the carbon hydroxide emissions on islands with 20% until the year 2020. During the year, ESIN took part in a new initiative from Greece on energy related projects in island areas; Smilegov. ESIN contributed with several counties in the application. 6. Treasurer s report for 2011 The report on the finances of ESIN for 2010 was presented by the Treasurer Anetté Larm Johansson. In 2011, all active members paid the member fee; some members also paid the service fee: Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, France, Ireland and Åland. For 2012, no members have got the invoice and no fees have been paid so far. 7. Annual membership fee and service fee 2013 The board decided on a member fee of 250 and no service fee, since the need for service fee is not the same as before. 7a. Signing of the statutes The meeting confirmed the adoption of the statues by signing them. 7b. Secretariat agreement The board decided on the formal closing of the secretariat agreement with Association «Les Iles du Ponant». ESIN minutes 12th AGM 2
8. Annual general work plan The Association of Danish Small Islands agreed to take on the technical secretariat of ESIN for 2012/2013. The work includes hosting the physical and digital address of ESIN, functioning as a secretary for the Board (organizing and arranging board meetings, draft and distribution of the agenda, taking minutes and distributing the minutes for the website), update the membership list, and distribute correspondence to/from ESIN among the board members. ESIN accepted the offer from Christian Pleijel to manage the website as Webmaster. ESIN also accepted the generous offer of Christian Pleijel to work, within agreement of the board, on developing projects within ESIN. 9. Membership application Marian Bennett from Scilly Isles and a member of FIRST (Friends of Scilly Isles Transport, http://www.frist.org.uk/) gave a short report on the transportation problems on Scilly Isles. During the winter of 2012/2013, the passenger ship will stop operating, the helicopter is no longer operating and the airline will not transport for example pregnant women and disabled persons. The transportation issues on Scilly Isles are therefore acute. Scilly Isles are interested in applying for a membership to ESIN. 10. Election of board members and substitutes Each member is entitled to one board member and one nominated substitute. The following persons were elected ESIN board members for 2012/2013. Board member Substitute Denmark Dorthe Winter Eva Terkelsen Estonia to be announced to be announced Finland Tiina Johansson Pia Prost France Bruno Noury Denis Palluel Greece to be announced to be announced Ireland John Walsh Rhoda Twombley Italy to be announced to be announced Scotland Camille Dressler Sandy Brunton Sweden Bengt Almkvist Anetté Larm Johansson The Aland Islands Christian Pleijel Jim Eriksson 11. Election of president and vice president Bengt Almkvist was elected president of ESIN for 2012/2013. Camille Dressler was elected vice president of ESIN for 2012/2013. 12. Appointment of auditor Kerstin Jernberg and Curt Olsson, both from Sweden, were appointed. ESIN minutes 12th AGM 3
13. Election of nominating committee Dorthe Winter, Tiina Johansson and John Walsh were elected. 14. Economic authorization Anetté Larm Johansson, Sweden, was elected treasurer. The AGM decided that the treasurer, Anetté Larm Johansson, is authorized to sign the economic matters for ESIN. 15. Proposals at the AGM John Walsh raised the question of the need of a youth project. A working group consisting of John Walsh, Bruno Noury and Camille Dressler was selected. 16. Final resolution from the 12 th annual general meeting The final resolution as an attachment to the minutes. 17. Next annual general meeting of ESIN The ESIN 13 th AGM will be held on Kökar on Aland Islands. 18. Next board meeting To be decided during the constituting board meeting. 19. Close of conference Chairman Bengt Almkvist expressed great thanks to the Scottish Islands Federation for hosting the 12 th annual general meeting of ESIN on Isle of Mull. The chairman closed the formal annual ESIN board meeting. Isle of Mull September 2012 Pia Prost Secretary Bengt Almkvist Chairman Lise Soerensen Elected to check the minutes Attachment Resolutions from The European Small Islands network (ESIN) AGM, 20 th of September 2012, Held on Isle of Mull ESIN minutes 12th AGM 4
Resolutions from The European Small Islands network (ESIN) AGM 20 th of September 2012, Isle of Mull The following was agreed by the members: 1. Transport All Islands need a regular and efficient transport link to the mainland all year round. ESIN is committed to lobbying national and European governments and decision makers to get this basic right for its members. It is unacceptable to isolate fragile communities even further by denying them this essential service. 2. Green and sustainable Islands ESIN will support and encourage member Islands to research and develop the green economy on their respective Islands. It was also agreed to investigate opportunities with EU projects so that members could take part to share experiences and learn from each other. The members agreed that renewable energy projects on Islands have the potential to transform the Islands economy and make Islands more sustainable. 3. Contact with EU structures ESIN agreed to work with all European structures whose policies affect Island communities, to further the aims and objectives of the organisation and to Island proof new policies being developed. In particular the members have agreed to work more closely with the members of Intergroup 174 and to produce a list of actions for the Group to work on for the benefit of small Islands in Europe. It was also agreed to meet with the MEP s that are members of the group on a regular basis. 4. ESIN Internal cooperation The following working groups has been set up within ESIN: - Youth Group: John Walsh (Ireland), Bruno Nuory (France)and Camille Dressler (Scotland) - Nominating committee: Dorthe Winther (Denmark), John Walsh (Ireland), Tiina Johansson (Finland) - Project manager: Christian Pleijel (Aaland) Changing of Secretariat. From nov. 1 st 2012 Denmark will host the function of ESIN secretariat. Aaland (Christian Pleijel) is the webmaster of the new homepage. The new contact information for ESIN is: ESIN Strynoe Brovej 12, Strynoe 5900 Rudkoebing Tlf. +45-62 51 39 93 Email: ls@danske- smaaoer.dk Web: http://europeansmallislands.com/ Attachment to ESIN minutes 12th AGM: Resolution from ESIN 12th AGM. 5