POSEI and Island Regions of the European Union

Abstract

POSEI (Program of Special Options for Island Remoteness and Insular Nature in French) is founded in 1989 by an initiative of France which has some remote island oversea regions (so-called DOMs). And in 1991 EC council decided that three Atlantic island regions (Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores) are selected as a region covered by POSEI.
Different from PTOM (Oversea Island Countries and Territories in French) islands for example French TOMs, oversea British islands and Dependency which are excluded from European common policies, POSEI island regions are included into them. And in future these islands are to be completely integrated into European common policies. However because of some geographical handicaps, the Community took account of some exceptional options about application of the common policies into these regions from a viewpoint of social and economic cohesion.
POSEI is mainly composed of: 1) special supply adjustment that the EU makes a special financial aid to the agents which transport specified products in the Continent to the remote island regions and that the cost which risks to discourage these regions from creating new local productive activities and raise the local consumer price are cut down, 2) temporary prevention of the application of common custom policies, safeguard of traditional economic activities strongly linked with non-EU territories in the island regions, 3) exception of the application of European agricultural and fishery policies, European financial back up system for specified agriaquacultural fields that are unique in the region and needed for stability of the Common Market, and 4) creation of special taxation system, for example tax-free zone and special imposition for promoting local production and consumption.
Nowadays POSEI is needed as a European island region policies for the other island regions for example Mediterranean Area.