Text · Opinion parliamentary committee draft
On the Council Decision amending Decision (EU) 2021/1764 on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other
Full title
On the Council Decision amending Decision (EU) 2021/1764 on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other
Document AFET-PA-785248 · COM(2025)0599 – C100248/2025 – 2025/0264(CNS)
- Kind
- Opinion parliamentary committee draft AFET-PA-785248
- Date
- 5 March 2026
- Committee
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Rapporteur
- Urmas Paet
- Dossier
- 2025-0264
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- CDEV, PTOM, EXT
- Reference
- COM(2025)0599 – C100248/2025 – 2025/0264(CNS)
In short
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AI: In short Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-flash · 25 Sept 2026
The Committee on Foreign Affairs proposes amendments to the Council Decision on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union. It adds new recitals on the geopolitical value of the OCTs, Greenland, French Guiana and New Caledonia, and amends articles on Greenland support and OCT-EU dialogue.
Position. The Committee on Foreign Affairs proposes amendments to the Council Decision, adding recitals on the geopolitical and strategic value of the OCTs, Greenland, French Guiana and New Caledonia, and amending provisions on Greenland support and OCT-EU dialogue.
Key points
- Adds a recital noting Parliament's resolution of 26 November 2026 on the EU's diplomatic strategy and geopolitical cooperation in the Arctic.
- Adds a recital on the joint communication of 7 June 2023 on a New Agenda for EU relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Adds a recital on Parliament's resolution of 8 October 2025 on the EU's political strategy on Latin America.
- Adds a recital that the OCTs enhance the Union's geopolitical reach across the Atlantic, Antarctic, Arctic, Caribbean, Indian and Pacific regions.
- Adds a recital that all OCTs except one have permanent populations whose inhabitants hold Union citizenship through their Member State nationality.
- Adds recitals on Greenland's strategic position, its role in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, threats to undersea infrastructure and foreign information manipulation, and its unexploited critical raw materials.
- Adds a recital that Greenland's right to self-determination and constitutional future should be decided exclusively by the people of Greenland, free from external pressure.
- Adds a recital that polling suggests around 60% of Greenlanders favour Union membership, and that membership or candidate status would bring benefits.
- Adds a recital on French Guiana as the Union's gateway to South America, home to the Guiana Space Centre, and on potential offshore resources.
- Adds a recital on New Caledonia's nickel, cobalt and other critical raw materials and its ongoing self-determination processes.
- Adds recitals that the remaining OCTs contribute to the Union's global maritime estate and diversity, and that OCT resources are the sovereign patrimony of their peoples.
- Amends Article 3(5)(b) to refer to direct threats to Greenland's sovereignty, and amends Article 14 on the OCTs-EU Forum and trilateral consultations.
Who is affected
- Overseas Countries and Territories: the amendments shape the association framework and dialogue with the EU.
- Greenland: the amendments address its sovereignty, resources, self-determination and potential EU membership.
- French Guiana: the amendments highlight its strategic role and potential offshore resources.
- New Caledonia: the amendments highlight its critical raw materials and self-determination processes.
- Member States linked to OCTs: they take part in trilateral consultations and are informed of results.
Figures and deadlines
- 26 November 2026: date of Parliament's resolution on the Arctic cited in a new recital.
- 7 June 2023: date of the joint communication on EU-Latin America and Caribbean relations cited in a new recital.
- 8 October 2025: date of Parliament's resolution on Latin America cited in a new recital.
- around 60%: polling figure for Greenlanders favouring Union membership.
- 2018 and 2021: period of three referendums on independence in New Caledonia.
- every two years: frequency of the OCTs-EU Forum.
- at least three times a year: minimum frequency of trilateral consultations.
Text
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Jump to an amendment (17)
The Committee on Foreign Affairs submits the following to the Committee on Development, as the committee responsible:
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1a) On 26 November 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the EU's diplomatic strategy and geopolitical cooperation in the Arctic, emphasising the need to protect critical infrastructure, secure raw materials and strengthen NATO cooperation in the region. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1b) On 7 June 2023, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy adopted a joint communication on a New Agenda for Relations between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on strengthening political cooperation, boosting trade and sustainable investment via the Global Gateway strategy, and fostering a fair, green and digital transition. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1c) On 8 October 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the EU's political strategy on Latin America, promoting a strategic partnership that is based on shared values and focused on democracy, sustainability and economic cooperation. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (8a) The OCTs significantly enhance the Union's geopolitical reach across the Atlantic, Antarctic, Arctic, Caribbean, Indian and Pacific regions, enabling the Union to maintain a presence in regional organisations through OCT representation, and thus to promote democratic values and the rule of law in those strategically sensitive areas. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (9a) All OCTs except one have permanent populations whose inhabitants enjoy the full rights of citizenship of the Union by virtue of their nationality of the associated Member State, thereby forming an integral part of the Union’s citizens while residing outside the Union's territorial scope. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10a) Greenland, as the world's largest island and with a strategic position in the Arctic region, plays a vital role in an area of intensifying geopolitical competition, climate change-driven transformations and emerging shipping routes, which faces growing external pressure due to unfounded territorial claims. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10b) Greenland constitutes one of the extremes of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, a strategic corridor critical for European maritime domain awareness. Control of the North Atlantic sea lanes and the detection and deterrence of hybrid threats is therefore increasingly important, also in light of initiatives such as Polar Connect and Vision 2030, which envisage submarine cable routes linking Greenland and Iceland to continental Europe. Ensuring the security of such undersea infrastructure, including cables and associated digital ecosystems, against sabotage, espionage and physical disruption, requires close and coordinated joint action between the EU, NATO allies and Arctic partners. Moreover, as foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) directed at Arctic and North Atlantic communities poses a distinct and growing threat to public resilience, democratic debate and situational awareness in the region, a comprehensive approach to the security of the GIUK corridor must integrate not only maritime surveillance and military deterrence but also the protection of critical infrastructure and the defence of the information environment through shared standards, early-warning mechanisms and coordinated counter-FIMI measures. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (10c) Greenland has significant unexploited reserves of critical raw materials, including manganese and graphite, and possesses significant potential for renewable and hydroelectric energy. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (11a) Greenland's right to self-determination, its constitutional future and international relations, including potential EU accession, should be decided exclusively by the people of Greenland, free from external pressure. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (12a) Support for EU accession is increasing among Greenlanders, as evidenced by polling suggesting that around 60% of them now favour Union membership. Should Greenlanders eventually opt to rejoin the Union, Union membership would give Greenland a stronger voice in Arctic governance, enhance its security including through the development of critical infrastructure, and give Greenland access to Iris, Galileo and other relevant EU programmes. Should Greenland achieve EU candidate status, the Global Europe instrument could offer Greenland concrete pre-accession benefits through deeper strategic and economic cooperation with the Union. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (13a) French Guiana, as the Union's gateway to South America and home to the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, represents a critical Union strategic asset in the context of heightened Union engagement in South America through the EU-Latin America partnership strategy and the conclusion of negotiations with MERCOSUR, while also ensuring Union autonomous access to space. Recent major oil discoveries in the Guyana-Suriname basin open up potential opportunities for the future exploration and exploitation of natural resources in French Guiana's adjacent offshore areas, which could contribute to the Union's energy security and diversification in the context of reduced dependence on Russian energy supplies; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (14a) New Caledonia has the world's third-largest nickel reserves and significant deposits of cobalt and other critical raw materials, thus representing a crucial asset for the Union’s strategic autonomy and contributing to the diversification of Union supply chains. New Caledonia's political future remains subject to ongoing self-determination processes following three referendums on independence from France between 2018 and 2021, the outcome of which will have significant implications for Union presence in a region where China and other powers are rapidly expanding their influence. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (15a) The remaining OCTs contribute substantially to the Union's global maritime estate, and embody the geographic, cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as the global reach, of the Union. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (16a) Many OCTs possess significant reserves of critical raw materials and renewable energy resources that are essential to the Union's strategic autonomy and green transition. Those resources are the sovereign patrimony of the peoples of the OCTs, who hold the primary right to determine the conditions of their exploration and exploitation. The pursuit of the Union's strategic objectives should never compromise the sovereignty, prosperity or environmental integrity of OCT communities. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| ‘(b) to support and to cooperate with Greenland in addressing its major challenges such as the raising of its education level and economic diversification, and to contribute to the capacity of the administration of Greenland to formulate and implement national policies.’; | ‘(b) to support and to cooperate with Greenland in addressing its major challenges such as direct threats to its sovereignty as well as to support Greenlanders by raising education level and economic diversification, and to contribute to the capacity of the administration of Greenland to formulate and implement national policies.’; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| ‘(a) an OCTs-EU forum for dialogue (the ‘OCTs-EU Forum’), which shall meet every two years to bring together OCTs’ authorities, representatives of the Member States and the Commission. Members of the European Parliament, Representatives of the EIB and representatives of the outermost regions shall, where appropriate, be associated with the OCTs-EU Forum; | ‘(a) an OCTs-EU forum for dialogue (the ‘OCTs-EU Forum’), which shall meet every two years to bring together OCTs’ authorities, representatives of the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament. Representatives of the EIB and representatives of the outermost regions shall, where appropriate, be associated with the OCTs-EU Forum; |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (b) trilateral consultations between the Commission, the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked, which shall be held on a regular basis. Those consultations shall be organised at least three times a year on the initiative of the Commission or at the request of OCTs and of the Member States to which they are linked. Member States shall be informed about the results of the consultations appropriately;’; | (b) trilateral consultations between the Commission, the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked, which shall be held on a regular basis. Those consultations shall be organised at least three times a year on the initiative of the Commission or at the request of OCTs and of the Member States to which they are linked. Member States and the European Parliament shall be informed about the results of the consultations appropriately;’; |
Back matter, 1
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Annex: declaration of input 4 blocks
Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur for opinion declares that he included in his opinion input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that he received, in the preparation of the opinion, prior to the adoption thereof in committee, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:
| 1. Interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register |
| 2. Representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies |
Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for opinion declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.
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Sources & citation
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- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2026). “DRAFT OPINION on the Council Decision amending Decision (EU) 2021/1764 on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other”. Text, 5 March 2026. docId AFET-PA-785248. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AFET-PA-785248 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/AFET-PA-785248 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-afet-pa-785248,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT OPINION on the Council Decision amending Decision (EU) 2021/1764 on the Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other}},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-03-05},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AFET-PA-785248}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/AFET-PA-785248},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId AFET-PA-785248. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}