The European Commission has adopted four Communications on the Outermost Regions (ORs) to date (2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012) and plans to adopt the fifth Communication in October 2017, on a renewed EU strategy for the Outermost regions (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion Island, Saint-Martin, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands).
The preparatory works for this renewed strategy involved the engagement of several groups of experts from the Commission, the ORs and their Member States on some key sectors for growth and jobs. One of the working groups focussed on Green and Circular economy issues, and took stock of the situation in the ORs to feed into the development of recommendations for actions at the EU, national and regional level.
The OR Forum held on 30-31 March 2017 and the expert groups launched to explore key potential areas will contribute to informing the objectives and specific measures in the 2017 renewed strategy. The expert group on Green and Circular economy issues, which fed into the development of this report, undertook a reflection on the needs and opportunities for a transition to a green and circular economy, in accordance with the EU legislative package on circular economy and in a broader context, the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
This report presents the state of play of legal and operational issues at EU and national/OR level to be tackled with a view to better support a transition towards a green and circular economy.
It was developed through direct engagement with experts from the Commission, from the Members States and the ORs as well as a questionnaire circulated to the ORs, and aims to feed reflections into on the 2017 Communication from the Commission.