Strengthening access to EU programmes in French Outermost Regions

The OECD, in partnership with the European Commission's Task Force on Reforms and Investments (SG REFORM) and Directorate-General for Overseas Territories (DGOM) of the French Ministry for Overseas Territories, completed a two-year project supporting the six French Outermost Regions (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, La Réunion and Saint-Martin) to strengthen their capacity to mobilise European Union (EU) programmes under direct and indirect management, such as Horizon Europe, LIFE, Creative Europe, Erasmus+, Connecting Europe Facility, EU4Health, etc. 

The project was funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in cooperation with the European Commission's Task Force on Reforms and Investments (SG REFORM) for the Directorate-General for Overseas Territories (DGOM) of the French Ministry of Overseas Territories. This project was carried out with the financial assistance of the European Union. 

EU programmes under direct and indirect management differ from shared management programmes, particularly those relating to cohesion policy. They cover a wide range of areas relevant to the French Outermost Regions, including research, environment, education, health, support for SMEs, and many others.

Managed directly by the European Commission or indirectly by European executive agencies, bodies such as the EIB, and/or national agencies and ministries, these programmes are awarded through competitive calls for proposals, often requiring European partnerships and strong project development capacity, particularly in the field of European project engineering.

The project focused on 10 EU programmes identified as particularly relevant to the French Outermost Regions, helping regional administrations strengthen their capacity to access funding opportunities under direct and indirect management.

The six French Outermost Regions, like the two Portuguese (Madeira and the Azores) and the Spanish ones (Canary Islands), are an integral part of the EU. They are subject to European Union law, in the same way as other European regions, and are eligible for European funds. Since 1999, the Outermost Regions also benefit from a special status that enables the possibility of differentiated treatment due to their specific territorial characteristics (e.g. remoteness, insularity and small size, except for French Guiana, difficult topography and climate, inadequate infrastructure network, economic dependence on a limited number of products or sectors of activity). 

Despite significant needs and assets that could benefit substantially from EU programmes under direct and indirect management, the French Outermost Regions make modest use of them compared to other French and European regions, including the Spanish and Portuguese Outermost Regions. This project was launched to help strengthen their capacity to access and mobilise these programmes more effectively.

The project produced a diagnostic report identifying the main challenges faced by the French Outermost Regions in mobilising EU programmes under direct and indirect management. It highlighted barriers related to access to information, institutional co-ordination, and the capacity of public authorities and project promoters to access and manage these European programmes.

Building on this analysis, the OECD developed a report setting out recommendations for regional and national stakeholders, together with an action plan for the Directorate-General for Overseas Territories (DGOM) and support for its implementation.

The action has been rolled out on two levels:

This Toolbox brought together a set of practical and operational instruments designed to support project holders at each stage of their application for a European programme, as well as institutional actors in supporting local actors and project holders. These tools were made available to all interested parties. They were designed to be adapted to each territory and could also be adapted to any European programme, including programmes not included in the ten programmes selected for this project.

Provided a concise and informative overview of the ten European programmes selected for this project, including specific provisions for the Outermost Regions.

To promote the use of these tools to a large number of national and regional stakeholders, they have also been published on:

• The "Europe s'engage en France" website, managed by the Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires (ANCT) .
• The regional websites of the French Outermost Regions (L’Europe s'engage en Martinique,  L’Europe s’engage en Guadeloupe, La Réunion region’s website, etc.).

The project concluded with a conference entitled "Realising European opportunities in French Outermost Regions: keys to optimising European programmes under direct and indirect management", which was held on 22 September 2025 and brought together several hundred stakeholders at regional, national and European levels.

The aim of the conference was to share the main results of the project, gather feedback from the French Outermost Regions on their use of the tools in their territories, and highlight the importance of coordination between regional, national and European stakeholders, particularly through the networks created, in order to make the most of the tools developed and promote better access to EU programmes for the French Outermost Regions. 

Margaux Vincent, Policy Analyst, Decentralisation, Public Finance and Infrastructure Unit, CFE, OECD  margaux.vincent@oecd.org