Special Member State territories and the European Union

Several European Union member states have territories which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union. These statuses have a wide range of derogation from EU policies. Most of the territories which are outside the EU nonetheless have a special relationship with the EU.

The outermost regions (OMR) are territories forming part of a member state, situated a significant distance from mainland Europe, which are part of the EU. According to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, both primary and secondary European Union law applies automatically to these territories, with possible derogations to take account of their "structural social and economic situation ... 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". Seven outermost regions were recognised at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The Treaty of Lisbon included two additional territories (Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin) in 2007, both of which seceded from one of the original outermost regions (Guadeloupe). Saint Barthélemy changed its status from OMR to OCT with effect from 1 January 2012, while Mayotte joined as a new French OMR with effect from 1 January 2014. As of April 2014, a total of nine territories (six French, two Portuguese, and one Spanish) were registered to have OMR status.

Azores and Madeira are two groups of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic. Azores and Madeira are integral parts of the Portuguese Republic, but both have the special status as Autonomous Regions, with a degree of self-governance. While derogations from the application of EU law could apply, none do. Their VAT is lower than the rest of Portugal, but they are not outside the European Union Value Added Tax Area.

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