European Commission Presents New Strategy and Regulatory Package for Outermost Regions

Key points

• The Strategy covers nine outermost regions: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, La Réunion, Saint-Martin, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, home to more than 5 million people.
• Four objectives: geostrategic potential and regional integration; competitiveness and better access to the Single Market; resilience and preparedness; and social fairness.
• For the first time, a dedicated regulatory package with targeted adaptations, exemptions and derogations on taxation, deforestation rules, agriculture, fisheries, and migration and asylum.
• The Commission cites Article 349 of the Treaty, stressing that equal treatment does not always mean identical treatment and that rules must fit territorial realities.
• Priority development areas include the blue economy, renewable energy, tourism, agriculture, research, biotechnology, logistics and space.
• Kourou in French Guiana is Europe's main gateway to space; the regions' maritime zones represent more than half of the EU's exclusive economic zones.
• The Strategy and regulatory package were built with the outermost regions and Member States concerned, following public consultation and visits to the territories.
• The proposal will be negotiated in parallel at the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to agreeing a final text by mid-2027.