Evropská unie eviduje devět nejvzdálenějších regionů, které jsou zeměpisně velmi vzdálené od evropského kontinentu:
Guadeloupe a Réunion (2 francouzské regiony);
Mayotte (1 francouzský zámořský departement);
Francouzská Guyana a Martinik (2 francouzská územní společenství)
Svatý Martin (1 francouzské zámořské společenství);
Madeiru a Azory (2 portugalské autonomní regiony);
Kanárské ostrovy (1 španělské autonomní společenství).
Další nástroje
Jedná se o ostrovy a souostroví, které leží v Karibiku, západním Atlantiku a Indickém oceánu, a o některá území amazonského pralesa. I když se nacházejí daleko od evropského kontinentu, jsou tyto regiony nedílnou součástí EU. Žije zde přibližně 4 800 000 obyvatel (stejně jako v Irsku).
Na nejvzdálenější regiony se vztahuje právo EU a všechna práva a všechny povinnosti související s členstvím v EU, s výjimkou případů, pro které platí specifická opatření či odchylky. V souladu s článkem 349 SFEU účelem těchto specifických opatření je řešení problémů, jimž nejvzdálenější regiony čelí v důsledku své odlehlosti, izolovanosti, malé rozlohy, obtížné topografie a klimatu či ekonomické závislosti pouze na několika produktech.
Nejvzdálenější regiony mohou využívat financování v rámci politiky soudržnosti prostřednictvím Evropského fondu pro regionální rozvoj a Evropského sociálního fondu.
European Strategy for the Outermost regions
The Commission has set out actions in favour of the Outermost regions within in a series of four Communications on the Outermost regions (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2017).
The latest Communication of 24 October 2017 (COM (2017) 623 final): "The outermost regions of the European Union: towards a new approach", proposes a new approach to better address the specific needs of each of the 9 outermost regions. By encouraging them capitalise on their unique assets, the strategy will help them create new opportunities for their people, boost competitiveness and innovation in sectors like agriculture, fisheries or tourism, while deepening the cooperation with neighbour countries.
The new strategy is based on four pillars:
A new governance based in a strong partnership
The strategy proposes a deepened cooperation between the outermost regions, their respective Member States and the Commission in order to take better account of their specific interests and constraints. A closer dialogue will be set up in the elaboration and implementation of EU program policies.
Building on OR assets
The strategy encourages the outermost regions to make strategic use of their assets through investments in growth-enhancing areas such as bleu economy, research, circular economy, space science, responsible tourism or renewable energy.
The strategy will also support the modernization of traditional sectors for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector, the modernization of the agricultural production and the increasing competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
Enabling growth and job creation
With higher unemployment rates, the outermost regions require specific measures to increase employability and skills, in particular for young people. The strategy will strengthen exchanges in the field of higher education and training and will financially support the mobility of young people and professionals under Erasmus + and the European Solidarity Corps.
Scaling up cooperation
The strategy will contribute to deepening their ties with neighboring countries by promoting the planning of key joint projects
At the same time, the European Commission has reviewed the progress made with the implementation of the previous strategies through the special measures adopted in the different European policies. The latest trends are shown on the annex of the communication.
The Outermost regions and EU policy
All community policies apply to the Outermost Regions
and contribute to their development.
Firstly, the cohesion policy helps them to move towards
the EU’s 2020 targets, and to modernise and diversify
their economic activities. The European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), including an additional financial
grant to offset the additional charges to ORs and
sparsely populated regions in Finland and Sweden, the
Cohesion Fund (for the Portuguese ORs) and the European Social Fund (ESF) are key tools that help to structure
public and private investments in these regions.
The ORs also benefit from several financial instruments
and specific measures that have been introduced in the
areas of fisheries (the European Maritime and Fisheries
Fund – EMFF) and agriculture (the European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development – EAFRD and the Programme
of Options Specifically Relating to Remoteness and
Insularity – POSEI).
The POSEI Programme provides aid for the production,
processing and marketing of agricultural products from
the ORs and is the first pillar of the common agricultural
policy concerning the regions.
The ORs are also heavily involved in territorial cooperation
programmes (INTERREG) co-financed by the ERDF, which
provide them with an essential tool to strengthen their
regional integration. There are six cross-border and transnational
programmes devoted to them for the 2014-
2020 period.
Other horizontal European programmes offer direct aid or
financial instruments that can benefit the ORs; in particular their
SMEs, their stakeholders in research and innovation and the social economy, and their youth. This is particularly the case for
Horizon 2020 research programmes and the European
programme for SMEs (COSME) or the education, training, youth
and sport programme (ERASMUS +). It is in this context, along
with the support of the cohesion policy, that smart specialisation
strategies support the researchers and innovative businesses
of the ORs in their quest for excellence in order to better utilise
the comparative advantages of each region.
In addition to these programmes, the investment plan forEurope endowed with EUR 315 billion offers guarantees to risky investments that facilitate the setting up of public-private partnership projects. The doubling of this plan by 2022 offers additional investment support across the EU from which the
ORs can benefit.
In terms of other EU policies, it is worth mentioning that State
aid policy recognises the specificities of the ORs in order to
ensure they have an adequate environment to develop SMEs
and micro-enterprises. Thus, Article 107(3)(a) of the
TFEU allows higher aid rates to be applied in the ORs,
irrespective of their GDP per inhabitant. In tax matters, the ORs
benefit from specific exemptions or terms appropriate for their
local situation.
The outermost region and eu financial support
Between 2014 and 2020, the EU allocates EUR 13.3 billion to these regions under the European Structural and Investment Funds (in the form of additional envelopes) and POSEI (Specific 'Remoteness and Insularity'), a program for the common agricultural policy, particularly for the outermost regions.
EU partnership with the Outermost regions
The Commission relies on a solid partnership with the outermost regions and the three Member States (France, Spain and Portugal) as well as with other EU institutions: the European Parliament under the impulsion of a cross-party group of the nine Member of the Parliament from the OR and the Council (a specific working group is convened as needed). The Commission cooperates also with the Committee of the regions and the European Economic Social Committee (e.g. a seminar on employment in the OR was organised jointly with the European Economic Social Committee in March 2016).
The European Commissionand the European Parliament tke part to the annual confernce of the Presidents of the outermost regions.
The European Commission hosted the Fourth Forum of the outermost regions entitled "The Outermost Regions, European lands in the world: toward a renewed strategy" in Brussels on 30-31 March 2017 (Charlemagne Building, 170 rue de la Loi).
Fourth Forum of the Outermost Regions
Videos
EU strategy for the outermost regions, one year on
On 22-23 November 2018, Commissioner Corina Creţu attended the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions in the Canary Islands. On this occasion the Commissioner presented various new initiatives on the implementation of the EU strategy for the Outermost regions, one year after its adoption. This includes the Outermost Regions' specificities being enshrined in twenty-one proposals for post-2020 European programmes; new rules on state aid to help fishermen in the outermost regions to buy new vessels; new opportunities for research and innovation through a new project under Horizon 2020, called 'FORWARD' ; the implementation of tailor-made solutions through task forces to support the energy transition in Reunion Island or the waste management in Canary Islands.
Smart Regions' story : The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands region had an extremely high unemployment in the past years. The main problem was its isolation. Being located far away in the middle of the ocean, meant they had less opportunities for business activities and economic exchanges then other regions on the mainland. But once they started to see their unique remote location as an opportunity, and started to use the ocean as a new source of energy, the economic recovery kicked in. Now having a scientific and an industrial test site, funded by the EU, offers its users not only data and knowledge on oceanic parameters, but also offers services. This opportunity has been exploited in order to create economic growth and bring the Canary islands to the path of recovery and job creation. As Dominique Foray, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, explained: "Every region is able to identify some strategic domains where new opportunities can be identified and supported, to build competitive advantage for the future.
Key Documents
Legislation and other measures
Communication "A stronger and renewed strategic partnership with the EU's outermost regions" - COM(2017) 623 final - Annex "Comprehensive list of actions" - Staff Working Document: Part 1 / Part 2
