Commissie steunt €500 miljoen aan hulp goed voor de Franse overzeese departmenten voor de periode 2007-2013 (en)

The European Commission has approved aid for freight in the French overseas departments for the period 2007-2013, under the terms of the EC Treaty on state aid rules. The aid scheme in support of freight aims to offset specific disadvantages (recognised by the EC Treaty in Article 299(2)) in the outermost regions, of which the French overseas departments form part. This decision fits into the overall framework of the review of existing regional aid in all the Member States, in accordance with the new Guidelines on national regional aid adopted in December 2005 (see IP/05/1653 and MEMO/05/491). The new guidelines aim to redirect regional aid towards the most disadvantaged regions of the enlarged EU, whilst recognising the need to improve competitiveness and ensure a smooth transition.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "The Commission recognises that the French overseas departments face specific disadvantages as outermost regions. The freight aid scheme aims to offset certain additional transport costs related, in particular, to the insularity and remoteness of these regions."

The regional aid guidelines adopted in December 2005 allow for operating aid to be granted to such outermost regions to offset the additional costs involved in carrying out economic activities as a result of the factors listed in Article 299(2). Point 81 of the guidelines stipulates that aid which is not progressively reduced and limited in time and which is intended partly to offset additional transport costs may be authorised under certain conditions.

The Commission concluded that the conditions for authorising the aid scheme in support of freight in the French overseas departments were met. In particular, the aid aims to offset the additional costs of transporting goods produced in the outermost regions to Metropolitan France, and transporting primary commodities, raw materials or intermediate products from their place of production in Metropolitan France to their place of processing in the overseas departments concerned.

In the case of transport from or to a European (not French) port (or airport), compensation may be granted without the input or output service concerned being obliged to pass through a French port (or airport). Only the part of the cost that relates to the overseas departments mainland France journey will be taken into account, on the basis of equivalent transport costs between the overseas departments and mainland France.

Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty recognises the specific economic and social situation of the overseas departments, “which is compounded by their remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, economic dependence on a few products, the permanence and combination of which severely restrain their development”.