Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

^{(1) Bonaire youth budget support programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(2) Greenland education budget support programme for 2014-2020 (EU budget).
(3) Wallis and Futuna digital budget support programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(4) Aruba higher education programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(5) Saba renewable energy budget support programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(6) Saint Pierre and Miquelon sustainable tourism budget support programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(7) Regional Pacific programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).
(8) Regional Caribbean programme for 2014-2020 (11th European Development Fund).}

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

The decision on the association of the overseas countries and territories (OCTs), including Greenland, with the EU (DOAG) provides an updated legal framework to support action by the 13 OCTs in tackling the challenges they face and ensuring their economic and social development. The three main building blocks of the EU OCT partnership are political and policy dialogue, commercial exchanges and financial cooperation. For the first time, the DOAG also incorporates Greenland, placing all OCTs firmly within the same instrument and under the same source of funding: the EU budget. (OCTs other than Greenland previously benefited from the European Development Fund.)

The OCTs have wide-ranging autonomy, covering areas such as economic affairs, labour market, public health, home affairs and customs. At the same time, as non-sovereign entities, they are part of the territory of three EU Member States (Denmark, France and the Netherlands). For instance, defence and foreign affairs usually remain within the remit of the Member States. While the around 1 million OCT inhabitants are EU citizens, their territory is not directly part of the EU, though they have been associated with the EU since the Treaties of Rome. Except for Wallis and Futuna, OCTs are not eligible for development aid under Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development criteria.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

Financial programming:
+ EUR 0.0 million (+ 0%)
compared to the legal basis*

^{(*) Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR) ⁽¹⁾:

^{(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.}

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

• The Green Deal is pivotal to the new EU–OCT cooperation. The DOAG, with its EUR 500 million envelope for 2021-2027, sets specific targets on priority areas of mutual interest, such as climate change and biodiversity. Spending targets for climate action (25%) and biodiversity (7.5% in 2024, 10% in 2026-2027) are therefore included.
• Given the vulnerabilities of the OCTs as islands, the major sectors of intervention under the 11th European Development Fund for the 2014-2020 period included the environment, climate change and sustainable energy. For 2021-2027, the Green Deal has even emerged as a key priority of EU–OCT cooperation. Most (9 out of 12) bilateral multiannual indicative programmes have a strong Green Deal focus (Bonaire, Curaçao, French Polynesia, Greenland, New Caledonia, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten), along with the three regional multiannual indicative programmes (Indian Ocean, Pacific and Caribbean). Around 40% of the overall resources will be mobilised for Green Deal cooperation, such as renewable energy, water, disaster risk reduction, sustainable agriculture and green growth.
• In 2021, the Greenland annual action programme and support initiatives were committed. They did not include markers on biodiversity or climate change. In 2022, seven initiatives were committed with positive climate coefficients.
• The 2022 implementing initiatives for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius and Saint Pierre and Miquelon will contribute to the climate and biodiversity targets.
• In French Polynesia, the programme (EUR 31.1 million) aims, among other things, to preserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity and to better monitor, report on and prevent water pollution. The initiative will contribute to protecting the environment and biodiversity and to adapting to climate change through the more efficient use of water.
• In Greenland, the multiannual indicative programme’s second priority area – green growth (EUR 22.5 million) – will support in particular the extension of a renewable energy supply, to ensure that the economic development of the island is sustainable and as carbon neutral as possible. Also in line with the Green Deal and climate adaptation goals is its second goal, the protection of biodiversity, as Greenland’s flora and fauna is particularly affected by climate change in the Arctic region, and is heating up more quickly than the rest of the planet. Lastly, as Greenland is an important territory in which to study climate dynamics, the support for research coordination also provided for in this priority area will contribute to a better understanding of the related challenges.
• In New Caledonia, the programme (EUR 30.9 million) aims to green the mining sector, develop decarbonised mobility and develop the sustainability and resilience of the territory. Therefore, the direct and indirect results of the programme will contribute to the fight against climate change and will foster environmental protection.
• A clean-energy transition with climate mitigation as the principal objective will be the focus of the 2021-2027 territorial cooperation with Saba (EUR 4.1 million, budget support, implementation will start in 2023), and the multiannual programme for Sint Maarten (EUR 7.7 million) also focuses on the renewable energy transition.
• Saint Barthélemy’s budget support programme for disaster risk management (EUR 2.5 million), is interlinked with climate adaptation. The EU’s support in this sector will contribute to developing integrated risk reduction management in Saint Barthélemy, but also, more broadly, to the island asserting its role as a leader and main trusted partner in the fight against climate change in the Caribbean region, one of the regions most vulnerable to its impacts.
• In Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the programme (EUR 27 million) aims to support the development of sustainable tourism. Several planned initiatives with a contribution to green priorities, to be carried out by the territorial collectivity, are in hand. The forest management plan provides for the protection of natural areas and remarkable sites. Furthermore, the territorial collectivity has developed a planning document for the sustainable development of the territory. This document is intended to both address the risks to the territory and protect the biodiversity of the coastal zone.
• For the first time, sustainable agriculture was selected in an OCT, in Sint Eustatius (EUR 2.9 million, budget support, implementation will start in 2023), instigated by the current disruptions in food supplies and the need to boost food security and increase the resilience of the island’s own food production (the Caribbean OCTs are highly dependent on food imports). The initiative will enhance food security in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, reduce the island’s environmental and climate footprint and provide opportunities for local operators in the different segments of the food value chain. The action is fully aligned with the Green Deal (under the farm-to-fork strategy).

Gender

EU budget contribution in 2022 (million EUR):

<sup>(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.</sup>

• While there was no specific target set for the 2014-2020 EU–OCT cooperation concerning gender equality, care will continue to be taken to ensure that all cooperation programmes include a focus on gender equality. Indeed, the DOAG programme explicitly states that gender equality should be mainstreamed into all initiatives as a key contribution to the successful achievement of the SDGs. Consequently, all new initiatives aim to ensure that gender aspects are considered to the best extent possible, notably through sex-disaggregated data.
• OCTs being Member State territory, they are subject to the respective national legislation, which includes the progressive application of EU legislation in this matter even though OCTs are not bound by the EU acquis. Therefore, no initiatives target gender equality specifically, but gender equality is mainstreamed in all new cooperation initiatives as a significant objective (G1 marker), while there are no initiatives with gender equality as a main target (G2).
• French Polynesia (G1). Action regarding equitable access to water and to appropriate hygiene conditions responds to a crucial issue for the health of women and children. However, gender-disaggregated data on access to water in French Polynesia does not yet exist. The gender issue in connection with the sustainable management of water will mainly be raised within the framework of the policy dialogue. The action will also support the production of sex-disaggregated data.
• Greenland (G1). Cooperation on education has several indicators disaggregated by gender, and one of its specific objectives is increased equality in the education system, including on gender. Female students perform particularly well in upper secondary and higher education. Young people in Greenland face the specific challenges of underperformance by male students and socio-psychological issues, along with gender-based violence.
• New Caledonia (G1). The energy sector is influenced by a set of persistent gender inequalities, which can be summarised as gender gaps in energy access, in the energy labour market, in energy-related education and in decision-making in the energy sector. The EU initiative and the policy dialogue will help the policies arising from the programme to address these inequalities. Moreover, the initiative will also support the production of sex-disaggregated data.
• Saba (G1). Action on energy transition will support a more affordable, sustainable and reliable energy supply, and will foster gender equality (better access to energy by women). It also has a gender-sensitive indicator, with a specific strategy for the sector to be drafted by 2025 (supported by technical assistance).
• Saint Barthélemy (G1). Cooperation on risk management has a gender-related goal (public policy documents taking gender into consideration).
• Saint Eustatius (G1). Cooperation in the field of sustainable agriculture, promoting a gender-sensitive agricultural-sector policy framework and minimum gender targets for the funding scheme. Infrastructure outputs require a gender-sensitive analysis.
• Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (G1). The territorial government is committed to implementing several initiatives for the careers of young women and men in the territory, in particular e-training courses. This training contributes to the better integration of women into the labour market. Moreover, the EU initiative will support the production of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis relating to the sector. It will also seek to build the capacity of stakeholders in relation to the gender and human-rights approach.
• Support initiatives are driven by demand, therefore they do not specifically target gender issues and are scored at 0 in the above table.

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

• During the 2014-2020 period, important work was carried out on digital connectivity with Wallis and Futuna (EUR 19.6 million) and Saint Helena (EUR 21.5 million).
• Under the DOAG programme, cooperation with Aruba in 2021-2027 will prioritise the digital transformation (e-government, EUR 14.2 million). Though programming is finished, the formulation of the implementing measure will take place in 2023, and implementation will only begin in 2024. The ongoing cooperation on education with Greenland includes the provision to extend and improve the use of digital technologies in education, for instance to battle the chronic lack of qualified teaching staff in remote locations. The government launched the evaluation of the information technology strategy in education in 2022, and is currently drafting a new action plan for digital and distance learning, to be finalised in 2023.

Budget performance – outcomes

The indicators presented above are based on data from various statistical sources in each OCT. The baseline was established by calculating a proxy based on available data, with the year 2020 serving as the reference point. As data for 2022 are not yet available, progress is shown using the most recent data available from each OCT, which, in most cases, is from 2021. It is important to note that a direct contribution by the cooperation provided for under the DOAG to the achievement of these indicators cannot be established, as most of the cooperation programmes do not directly support exports of goods and services, and only indirectly support government revenue generation (through cooperation on public financial management). Therefore, no targets are set.

However, the DOAG programme is performing well, as evidenced by rapid programming that is nearly complete, a significant amount of implementing initiatives being adopted and successful implementation having occurred (with the targets for variable tranches of budget support having been met). Most of the programming documents for the DOAG are in place (14 out of 16), and implementation has started swiftly (27.1% of the total allocation is already committed for the end of 2027). The initiatives are both based on priority policies for the OCTs and in line with EU priorities. Of the seven initiatives already under implementation, five initiatives are Green Deal related (the clean-energy transition, sustainable agriculture and water management), one major initiative (to the amount of EUR 60 million) supports Greenland in improving its education system and one will foster the sustainable economic transition by promoting sustainable jobs and growth.

As an alternative to the general proxy indicators, a good marker of the DOAG’s performance can be based on individual performance at programme level. One programme, the EU–Greenland education partnership, was running in 2022, using budget support to increase the quality, equality and efficiency of the island’s education system. The programme reached all the variable tranche targets in 2022, resulting in the disbursement of the full related amount of EUR 30 million. These targets included: (i) enhancing institutional coordination in the sector (a coordinating body was created); (ii) improving social guidance, student well-being and inclusion (an action plan was drafted); (iii) embracing digitalisation through e-learning and an overhauled IT strategy (an evaluation was launched); and (iv) fostering entrepreneurial skills and innovation (successful stakeholder consultations were held). These initiatives represent important steps towards the programme’s goals and confirm budget support as a reform driver.

Contribution to the sustainable development goals