What Changed
The European Commission has adopted a Communication that sets out a new strategic vision for the EU's outermost regions, the nine territories that extend the bloc's presence across three continents.
- French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Martin (France), the Azores, Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain).
The Communication is accompanied by a regulatory package proposing targeted adaptations to EU legislation, which draws its legal basis from Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the provision that allows tailored application of EU laws, adapted access to EU funds and other specific measures for these regions.
Highlights
- The Commission's new strategy sets four key objectives, including efforts to harness regional geostrategic potential and strengthen regional integration.
- A regulatory package accompanying the strategy covers agriculture, forestry, fisheries, migration and taxation, and rests on Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- France, Portugal and Spain will be required to include specific measures for their outermost regions in new National and Regional Partnership Plans under the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework.
- The package will go to the Council for agreement by Member States after consultation of the European Parliament.
Who Is Affected
If you hold an account or follow markets tied to these territories, the practical change starts with the Member States that govern them: France, Portugal and Spain will each be required to include specific measures for their outermost regions in their national plans.
Those measures sit inside new National and Regional Partnership Plans for managing EU funds, which the Commission has proposed as part of the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework.
What The Strategy Aims To Do
The new strategy is built around four key objectives, one of which is to harness the regions' geostrategic potential and strengthen regional integration.
It also aims to strengthen the administrative and technical capacity of the outermost regions, and it introduces a yearly structured dialogue together with a dedicated portal as mechanisms for carrying the strategy forward.
Separately, the Commission is launching a new youth project intended to empower local young people as active participants in shaping change in their regions.
What The Regulatory Package Covers
The accompanying regulatory package spans agriculture, forestry, fisheries, migration and taxation.
Within it, the Commission's proposal for the EU Emissions Trading System, the bloc's carbon-pricing mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions, includes provisions for the outermost regions that account for their geographical constraints and the need to preserve territorial continuity, connectivity and access to essential services.
The package also touches procurement and product rules: the Public Procurement Act would allow tailoring of certain procurement rules to the specificities of the outermost regions, while the European Product Act is expected to allow targeted adjustments to product requirements where they are necessary, proportionate and justified by local conditions.
What To Watch Next
The regulatory package will now be submitted to the Council for agreement by the Member States, following consultation of the European Parliament, so none of these adaptations take effect until that process concludes.
“Our outermost regions have strong identities and unique assets and geographical positions that project Europe to the four corners of the world.”