Brussels, 10/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - The adoption of the European Commission report on the outlying regions has again been postponed. Announced by the Commission on 22 December, then on 12 January, the report will finally be adopted on 2 February, regional sources concerned tell us. For its part, the Commission is no longer giving and exact date, but observes that the delay is "due to the difficulty and novelty of the exercise that concerns many Directorates General." The Commission's services coordinated by the General Secretariat, is said to be "re-writing half the report."
A meeting, end-November, with the countries and regions concerned had shown their disappointment as to the content of the drat report, which has to sketch the major outlines of a programme intended to implement the new Article 229.2 of the Treaty (EUROPE of 23 December, p.12). This Article allows exemptions to be applied to outlying regions: Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Reunion, Canaries, Azores, and Madera. Sources in the Canaries say that ,"the priorities of Spain, France and Portugal concern tax" (maintaining the tax on the import of gods to the Canaries, which allows to protect local production), State aid (further flexibility in the system), Structural Funds (taking account of the regions' special nature), agriculture and fisheries (consolidation of special regimes)". For all these points, "better a little delay that enables the Commission to take account of the interests of the regions concerned".
EUROPE has reason to believe that the Portuguese Presidency of the Council intends applying pressure on the Commission, once the report is adopted in a much more ambitious version (than last November's), to quickly draw up a concrete action plan, that would be concluded in the French Presidency in the second half of the year.