Community initiative concerning the most remote regions, 1994-1999

REGIS 2 (1994-99) is established to continue the measures started under the first phase of the initiative (1990-93) and forms part of the Community approach based on POSEIDOM, POSEIMA and POSEICAN. For the period 1994-99, certain adjustments and additions have been made to the measures which were pursued under the first phase of REGIS, in particular:

- Incorporation of measures previously financed by ENVIREG;
- Greater emphasis on measures designed to encourage the exchange and transfer of know-how with other Community regions;
- Extension of measures concerning energy, by making it possible to finance energy-saving investment projects.

REGIS 2 applies to the same seven regions as the first phase of the initiative - Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, Reunion, Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira - which have special features clearly distinguishing them from the rest of the Community (great distance from continental Europe, island nature and/or isolation, small local markets, mainly tropical agriculture production, under-developed economies).

The measures covered by the initiative aim to promote the economic diversification of the seven regions, to consolidate the links between them and the rest of the Community, to stimulate cooperation between neighbouring remote regions, and between them and the nearby non-member countries, especially those party to preferential arrangements with the Community (e.g. the ACP states) and, where appropriate, to increase their capacity to cope with natural disasters.
To undertake development measures complementary to those agreed under the Community Support Frameworks (CSFs) to speed up the adaptation of the economies of the most isolated regions (as defined in Declaration No 26 annexed to the Treaty on European Union) so that they may be better integrated into the European Community's internal market.
Eligible measures:

- Agriculture and rural development: assistance for the diversification of agricultural production in order to increase self-sufficiency and develop products for export. Measures under the LEADER 2 initiative are also eligible;

- Tourism: Assistance for investment related to the development of adventure holidays outside the main tourist centres which takes account of the local context and does not endanger environmentally sensitive zones;

- Industry and services: Measures concerning the modernization and diversification of small and medium-sized firms;

- Energy: Assistance for investments in energy saving, production and local energy sources, with particular emphasis on renewable energies, including geothermal energy;

- Environment: Measures to preserve the natural beauty of areas of tourist importance and investment in the treatment of waste water, urban waste and industrial and toxic waste;

- Measures to consolidate the links between these regions and the rest of the Community:
. Investment in transport and telecommunications infrastructures and services, both over long distances and between neighbouring regions;
. Measures to exchange and transfer know-how from other Community regions through, for example, study visits, seminars, training courses and participation in networks, and product promotion campaigns;

- Measures in the context of cooperation between the most remote regions and with neighbouring countries, particularly countries party to the fourth ACP-EEC Convention (LOME 4):
. Assistance for organizing seminars, meetings, missions and studies and for setting up agencies through which to find potential partners and to define and implement joint cooperation measures;
. Assistance for setting up services and purchasing equipment for other joint initiatives, particularly in the fields of tourism and trade;
. Assistance for the purchase of equipment and the construction of buildings needed for the development and improvement of services at the disposal of a geographical area extending beyond the Community regions and assistance with the costs of setting up bodies to develop services for the export of local know-how;
. Assistance for small inter-regional transport infrastructures;

- Assistance to cover the additional costs of business investments resulting from the need to take account of natural hazards, for example, assistance for improving security and protecting the energy distribution network in areas with tropical weather conditions;

- Measures concerning vocational training and employment, linked with the foregoing measures, including:
. Aid for the establishment of self-employed businesses and for recruitment to newly created stable jobs;
. Vocational training in management and marketing, new technologies, renewable energy and energy control, tourism, environmental management and language training;
. Vocational training in reducing the risks resulting from hurricanes, particularly for the agricultural sector;
. In view of the extent of unemployment or under-employment, it is also intended to provide assistance to social policies which help young people and the long-term unemployed to find employment and help the under-employed to be more fully employed.
Community assistance in the form of loans and grants may be provided under REGIS to the regions of Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, Reunion, Canary Islands, the Azores and Madera, in order to finance operational programmes submitted by the Member States and approved by the Commission. Member States with eligible regions should have submitted detailed proposals for operational programmes or global grants by 1 November 1994.

REGIS 2 is jointly financed by the Member States and the Community. The total contribution from the structural funds for the 1994-1999 period is estimated at ECU 600 million. The level of the Community's contribution to selected operational programmes will take account of the quality of the programmes and the remoteness of the regions, their population, their level of economic development and their specific handicaps.

Community assistance may be granted to public bodies or, in the form of global grants, directly to the bodies responsible for implementation as designated by the Member State concerned, including bodies responsible for transnational measures which entail expenditure in more than one Member State. Cooperation between beneficiaries will be encouraged both within the Member States concerned and amongst regions in different countries to enhance exchanges of experience, the spreading of best practice, joint measures and comparative assessments. The Commission will encourage the Member States to take this objective into account in the preparation and subsequent management of the programmes.

Regions eligible under REGIS 2 may participate fully in measures under the other Community initiatives and, in particular, transnational cooperation networks. Those measures covered by REGIS 2 which relate to a specific initiative will be implemented in full compliance with the provisions laid down in that initiative. In duly justified cases, the most remote regions could participate in the activities pursued by other Community initiatives.

The proposals submitted by the Member States must include an appreciation of the situation indicating the objectives to be attained and should include a timetable, criteria and procedures for implementation, monitoring and assessment. During and at the end of the planning period, the Commission will evaluate, in partnership with the Member States concerned, the results of the programmes submitted. The European Parliament, the Management Committee on the Community initiatives and the monitoring committees will be informed of the results of such evaluations and the action taken in response to them.