Association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union

KEY POINTS

Overseas countries and territories

• The EU has 13 OCTs (reduced from 25 by Brexit).
• They are part of the territory of the three Member States (Denmark, France and the Netherlands) with which they maintain special constitutional links.
• They are not part of the EU territory or the single market and are not bound by the acquis communautaire unlike the EU’s outermost regions.
• OCTs have wide-ranging autonomy, covering areas including economic affairs, public health, home affairs and customs, but defence and foreign affairs usually remain within the remit of the respective Member States.

Objectives

• Enhance the OCTs’ competitiveness, strengthen their resilience, reduce their economic and environmental vulnerability and promote cooperation between them and other partners.
• Preserve the existing ties between the EU on the one hand, and Greenland and Denmark on the other, acknowledging the geostrategic position of Greenland in the Arctic, and maintain existing ties between the EU and the other OCTs, acknowledging their geostrategic positions in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Priorities

The association provides a basis for policy dialogue and cooperation on issues of mutual interest. The decision prioritises cooperation in a number of areas including:

• the sustainable diversification of OCTs’ economies, including their further integration in world and regional economies, and the specific need to increase skills in Greenland’s labour force;
• the fostering of exchange, cooperation and partnerships to more quickly achieve the sustainable development goals;
• education and training, public health, tourism and culture;
• the sustainable management of natural resources, including the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• the mitigation of climate change and adaptation to the impacts of climate change;
• digital accessibility;
• the promotion of social, cultural and economic exchanges between the OCTs, their neighbours and other partners.

Budget and funding

• The decision sets up the funding programme for the association for 2021–2027: €500 million.
• EU assistance to OCTs is now to be financed from the EU’s general budget under the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework.
• It had previously been financed by the European Development Fund and partly by the budget (former Greenland decision).
• Annex 1 to the decision sets out forms of EU funding and the rules for providing such funding.