Brussels, 25/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - As announced, the European Commission must adopt, on Wednesday, at the initiative of Commissioner Jacques Barrot, its communication proposing a strengthened partnership with the very outlying regions of the Union (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.15). The communication presents the main elements of the future development strategy of the very outlying regions to be consolidated in a report soon to be submitted to the Commission for adoption when there will also be a report and assessment of the measures applicable to very outlying regions since March 2000. Commissioner Barrot will, on Wednesday, present this new Commission proposal to the press.
The communication takes three priority lines, the Commission spokesperson stressed: 1) improve competitiveness of very outlying regions by encouraging an economic environment that is favourable to the establishment of companies; 2) facilitate accessibility of these regions by stepping up efforts to reduce the difficulties linked to their remoteness (such as fragmentation in island areas or land-locked regions that are not easily accessible); 3) promote regional integration of the remoter regions into their close geographic environment.
In order to allow the very remote regions to exploit their full potential, the Commission suggests: 1) specific programme for compensation of disadvantages to be financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) for the period 2007-2013. It would be devoted to reducing the specific handicaps that affect the economy of the very outlying or remote regions and which are listed in Article 299 paragraph 2 of the EC Treaty (distance, insularity, low population, difficult land contours and climate, economic dependency on a small number of products); 2) action plan for the wider neighbourhood in order to enlarge the natural area of socio-economic and cultural influence of such regions (including population migration issues). Further action would also be implemented in the context of other Community policies, such as the launching of studies on assessing surcharges that very outlying regions must shoulder as well as hampered access to telecommunications services.
The communication follows up the conclusions of the European Council of Seville of June 2002, calling on the Commission to consolidate implementation of Article 299 paragraph 2 of the Treaty on the very outlying regions, mainly in the fields of transport and reform of cohesion policy. The communication also comes in response to a memorandum submitted on 2 June 2003 by the French, Spanish and Portuguese authorities as well as by the seven outermost regions, a memorandum which calls for coherent and effective action by making proposals in the areas of economic and social cohesion, agricultural and fisheries policy, competition and State aid, taxation and customs, company policy, the environment, energy, research, transport, new information and communication technology, and regional cooperation.
We recall that the very outlying regions are: 1) the four French overseas departments (DOM): Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique and Reunion; 2) the Portuguese autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira; and 3) the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands.