ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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An outermost region (RUP) is a territory of the European Union but outside the European continent. The ORs were first recognised in a declaration annexed to the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. Since 2009, they have been defined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which specifies how European law can be adapted.

The outermost regions are part of the European Union, they are included in the euro area, the common market and the European customs territory, and their nationals have European citizenship, in contrast to other ultramarine territories dependent on European Union countries called overseas countries and territories (OCTs). The latter are not part of the Community territory, although their nationals have European citizenship. Moreover, neither the overseas departments (which are outermost regions) nor the overseas countries and territories are part of the Schengen area (except the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira).

Geography
The outermost regions appear in clear blue on the map below of the territories associated with the European Union. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean, South America and the Indian Ocean.

List of outermost regions
Since the 19th century, there have been nine outermost regions:
a Spanish autonomous community: the Canary Islands;
five French overseas departments or local authorities: Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte and La Réunion;
a French overseas community: Saint-Martin;
two autonomous Portuguese regions: the Azores and Madeira.

Economy and demography
They comprise more than 4.5 million people and have received EUR 1.03 billion per year under EU regional policy. They represent a large part of the maritime territory of the European Union, allowing it to occupy the world's leading position with 25 million km. They also provide the European Union with exotic agricultural products (rhum, cane sugar, bananas, etc.) and, in return, receive support from the Programme for options specific to remoteness and insularity. They account for almost 80% of European biodiversity.

Status
Their existence is recognised by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (ex paragraph 2 of the Treaty establishing the European Community).

The status of OR attests to the specificity of these regions compared to the rest of the EU. Indeed, their development is made difficult by the remoteness, insularity and dependence on a few products (sugar, bananas, etc.). On the other hand, they allow the supply of exotic products to the EU markets but above all control over the vast maritime areas surrounding them.

The OR status allows the Member State to adapt the law