Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) No 228/2013 as regards additional assistance and further flexibility to outermost regions affected b...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Proposal for a Brussels, 23.4.2025 COM(2025) 190 final 2025/0104 (COD) REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) No 228/2013 as regards additional assistance and further flexibility to outermost regions affected by severe natural disasters and in the context of cyclone Chido devastating Mayotte EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL • Reasons for and objectives of the proposal As seen in the recent unprecedented cyclone in Mayotte, natural disasters and severe meteorological events in the outermost regions of the EU are having a devastating effect on the populations living and working in these regions. Much of the agricultural and forestry production potential is destroyed every year, causing huge losses of income and threatening the food availability and security of these regions which already face permanent constraints on their development, as recognised in Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In fact, while these regions are quite different from one another, they share some specificities, such as remoteness, insularity1, mostly small size, increased vulnerability to climate change, economies dependent on a few sectors, with high levels of unemployment, and gross domestic product (GDP) significantly below EU and national averages. All these constraints render the recovery of the agricultural production destroyed by severe natural disasters even...