MARIGOT--Member of Parliament (MP) Daniel Gibbs disclosed he has commissioned a study to be done on St. Martin’s European status, specifically to address the advantages and disadvantages of St. Martin remaining a Région Ultra Périphérique (RUP), or whether becoming a Pays et Territoire d’Outre Mer (PTOM), the status on the Dutch side where it is referred to as an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT), is better or go for a third option combining the advantages of the first two statuses.
St. Martin was designated an RUP in 2009 through the Lisbon Treaty.
A professor specialised in European affairs from the University of Bordeaux, Loïc Grard, and Fred Deshayes, Master of Conferences from the University of Antilles-Guyane, are carrying out the study. They have been interviewing various persons in the Collectivité to obtain feedback on their views on advantages and disadvantages of each status for St. Martin.
The general consensus is that St. Martin’s European status is today incompatible with the needs of the territory.
Have we reached the limits of our European status? Is it necessary to modify our European status to guarantee more efficient development for the Collectivité? These are the questions Gibbs has to answer in the coming months.
The experts noted an advantage to St. Martin being an RUP is the disbursement to Collectivités of structural funds of 70 million euros whereas in the PTOM setting structural funds are excluded although it can benefit from 5 million euros from Brussels.
The difference in statuses between the two sides of the island is incompatible with the 1648 Treaty of Concordia. Constraints imposed between the two statuses regarding circulation of goods and persons are in conflict with the Treaty which stipulates “total freedom” of movement between both sides.
Additionally, in the RUP setting structural funds are deemed insufficient. 50 per cent of credits from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-2010 don’t meet the needs of the island. Moreover, St. Martin does not benefit from its own operational programme but is still integrated with Guadeloupe.
For St. Martin to choose a PTOM status it would have to modify Article 74, they noted. A possible alignment of statuses between French and Dutch side would not present obstacles, they added, as the Dutch side benefits from semi-independence from the Netherlands.
It was noted that on November 25, 2013, the European Council introduced the idea of the PTOM merging with RUP to integrate the advantages of the European Union (EU).
The third solution is to create a status that would better serve the particularities of the island, in the better interests of St. Martiners, by adopting the best elements of both an RUP and a PTOM. The experts suggested St. Maarten will also have to consider this third option in the years to come.
