Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty and the two communications adopted by the Commission in 2004 stress the need to recognise the special nature of the outermost regions (the "ORs") and to put in place a genuine European strategy to support them.
There are three main strands to this strategy: to reduce the accessibility deficit and the effects of the other constraints on the OR, to make them more competitive, and to strengthen their regional integration. The strategy is founded on an active partnership between the European institutions, the Member States and the outermost regions.
The first assessment after three years of implementation is very encouraging. Many measures based on a variety of Community policies have been adopted and the economic and social situation of the ORs has improved.