Europe's remoter regions

 

The proposal aims to adapt current EU farm legislation to the specific circumstances of each outermost region.

 

For example, the Canary Islands will be able to continue producing a traditional product made of powder milk combined with vegetable fat, traditionally used in food, especially for poorer people.

 

La Réunion has problems in being supplied with milk products as it lies far from fresh milk supply routes and local production is insufficient for local consumption. It will now be allowed to reconstitute UHT milk in percentages lower than established by ordinary legislation.

 

It will enable the Azores to diversify its agriculture activity, which is important for its economy. Moreover, both the Azores and Madeira will be allowed to use specific types of vines which are forbidden elsewhere for local consumption until the vineyards are able to switch to other varieties.

 

 

At this time of crisis, with exceptional measures being taken all over Europe to support production and employment, we must enable the outermost regions to maintain and develop their agro-industrial resources. These regions have common issues - their distance from the principal markets and their small local markets – and specificities – they have a main product sustaining their economic production: in the Azores, it’s the milk sector, in the Canary islands the banana.

 

 

These regions must be fully integrated into their national systems. It’s symbolic that the first report adopted on agriculture under co-decision is related to outermost regions, as it shows a spirit of active solidarity, pretty much needed in the EU nowadays (With the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, farm policy is decided jointly by the EP and Ministers).

 

What are the prospects for agriculture in these regions and how can the EU help?

 

Due to natural constraints, outermost regions will always need support, but at the same time they have an important potential for European construction. They provide the EU with a maritime dimension, some of them are at the forefront of renewable energies and sustainable energy projects that are fundamental for EU competitiveness.

 

They should be able to develop their potential regarding scientific development, in studies related to climate change and space research, as is the case of the Azores, home to a European Space Agency tracking station.

 

In the islands and outermost regions the environment and environmental sustainability are the first and most important resource. None of them can stand alone in a highly competitive world where the axes are moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We must be united and ensure the cohesion of this project.