Home to 5 million people, the EU's outermost regions - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Martin (France), the Azores, Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain) – are its most remote territories. They extend the EU’s presence across the globe and play a key geostrategic role. The Commission has put forward a new strategy that willensure these remote regions can fully realise their potential, with stronger support, greater resilience and fairer opportunities for their people.

The Commission has also proposed targeted adaptations to EU laws to better reflect the outermost regions'unique realities and constraints. Tailored to the needs of the regions concerned, the proposals cover areas such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, migration, and taxation.

The strategy is built around four objectives:

At a broader level, the EU is also ensuring its support to the outermost regions is more coherent overall. For instance, theCommission's proposal to review the EU Emissions Trading Systemincludes several important provisions for these regions. As does the proposedPublic Procurement Actthat allows for the tailoring of certain procurement rules to the outermost regions' specificities.

In future, the Commission will take the specific situation of the outermost regions into account when preparing future initiatives. It aims to fostera robust partnershipbetween these regions, EU countries and the Commission, including through a yearly structured dialogue and a dedicated portal.

EU strategy for outermost regions - Communication

Press release: A new strategic vision for the outermost regions, strengthening the EU's global reach