New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, lies 16,820km from France. On November 4, 2018, a referendum on independence was held on the island. Independence was rejected by 56.4% to 43.6%, but the result was closer than expected.

Flag for New Caledonian independence (Photo: david takes photos/ Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0]）

Since World War II, Western colonies have gained independence one after another, yet non-self-governing areas and overseas territories where decolonization is not complete can still be found around the world. Many of these are islands in the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Atlantic. In particular, European occupations have not yet ended. A glance at all the territories of European Union (EU) member states on a world map makes this obvious: their lands are scattered across the globe, not only on the European continent. Why did these territories not become independent during the wave of decolonization from the postwar period to the 1970s? And what challenges exist there? This article focuses on these questions and examines the EU’s territorial issues.

The EU scattered across the world

Beyond the European continent, the EU has regions known as the nine Outermost Regions (ORs). These areas are part of the EU and belong to the single market—where people, goods, and services move freely—yet they are far from Europe. They include six French territories (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, and Saint Martin), two autonomous Portuguese regions (the Azores and Madeira), and an autonomous Spanish region (the Canary Islands). Except for French Guiana, these are islands and face issues such as logistics with Europe, small populations and land areas, and climate change.

Meanwhile, there are 25 regions called the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). These regions are not EU territory, but they are connected to the EU—through association and the like—for economic and social development. All of them are islands and receive financial support. Representative examples include Greenland (Denmark), New Caledonia (France), Aruba (the Netherlands), and the Falkland Islands (the United Kingdom).

Why do they remain part of Europe?

Why are there still so many regions that have not become independent and continue to belong to European countries? There are several reasons; here are some common ones.

First, they are convenient for the metropole. Islands in particular, situated between continents and isolated, are easily used for military bases, nuclear test sites, and spaceports. Because they have become important territories for the metropole, it is difficult for the metropole to let them go. One example of a military base is the Chagos Islands (the British Indian Ocean Territory) in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Chagos Islands were part of Mauritius, a British dependency during the colonial era, but in 1965 they were sold to the United Kingdom for defense purposes. Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago was then leased to the United States, which planned to establish a base in the Indian Ocean, and all residents were forcibly removed. As for nuclear testing, the French government conducted 193 tests in French Polynesia—on Tahiti and at Moruroa Atoll—between 1960 and 1996.

A French nuclear test conducted by the French military near Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia on July 3, 1970 (Photo: Pierre/Flickr [ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]

An example of a spaceport is French Guiana, located on the northeastern edge of South America, north of Brazil. It hosts a space center operated by the European Space Agency and the French government.

Beyond exploiting geographic distance, many also take advantage of legal separation from the metropole to function as tax havens. The British territories of the Cayman Islands and the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean are famous tax havens. Overseas territories may be small in fiscal scale, but their secrecy makes them ideal for tax havens. Since the 1950s, the United Kingdom has encouraged many of its overseas territories to become tax havens. Even as colonies became independent and Britain lost territory, it prepared to continue deriving financial benefits. For tax havens, lowering taxes still brings in money simply by hosting companies on paper. However, tax havens enable tax avoidance by multinational corporations and the like, preventing taxes from flowing to the countries where those firms should be paying—shifting the burden especially onto low-income countries.

A second reason for not pursuing independence is that both local residents and the metropole judge that life is better without independence. Between 2014 and 2020, the EU allocated €13.3 billion to the ORs. Many ORs have islands with populations of fewer than 500,000. With small populations and economies, support from the metropole helps maintain a better standard of living.

A third reason is that after long periods of colonial rule, many residents are people who migrated from the metropole. The Falkland Islands (the Malvinas in Argentina) are an example. Many islanders are immigrants from mainland Britain, and the island as a whole has a strong sense of belonging to the metropole, making independence movements less likely. Saint Helena in the South Atlantic is another such case. Originally uninhabited, it became a stopover for trading ships during the Age of Discovery; as a result, its present-day residents are descendants of sailors, settlers, and enslaved people, according to this background.

Argentine prisoners of war in the Falklands War (Photo: Ken Griffiths/Wikimedia Commons)

Attitudes toward independence

So, are people living in these territories satisfied with the status quo? Some regions appear to be. These are areas where independence movements are not currently seen—for example, the British Cayman Islands and Virgin Islands, and Portugal’s Azores and Madeira. Their finances are stable, and many residents are descendants of settlers.

However, there are also regions where many residents want change. As noted at the outset, New Caledonia and Tahiti have seen independence movements. The French government contributes €1.3 billion to New Caledonia, and its standard of living is far higher than that of nearby areas. Yet social issues persist, including high youth unemployment and a mono-crop economy dependent on nickel—essential for electronics manufacturing. Although independence was voted down in this referendum, two more referendums are scheduled by 2022. On Tahiti, independence movements grew in the 1970s. People in Tahiti distrusted the French government over nuclear testing in the Polynesian islands and sought greater autonomy. On the other hand, pursuing independence could mean losing substantial subsidies from France, so the independence movement has struggled to advance, and for now there has been no major development.

Greenland, a territory of Denmark, has been gradually expanding its autonomy. There is little movement demanding immediate independence, but there is a strong tendency to aim for independence in the long term. Greenland is believed to have abundant natural resources in the ground, and resources that were previously difficult to extract due to thick ice may become accessible as a result of global warming. If so, Greenland could build a fiscal base to support its economy.

Nuuk, the capital of Greenland (Photo: Nanopixi/Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA3.0]

It is not only the parties to the territories themselves who express dissatisfaction. Neighboring countries also claim, based on historical circumstances, that certain territories belong to them. In other words, islands were taken through colonization, and neighbors demand their return. The Falkland Islands (Malvinas) are an example. The Falklands War broke out in 1982 after Argentina, seeking the islands’ return from the UK, invaded and occupied the Falklands. Both the UK and Argentina claimed sovereignty. The war ended in an Argentine defeat after the UK retook the islands, but the territorial dispute remains unresolved. In 2016, a UN commission investigating the continental shelf announced that the Falkland Islands lie within Argentina’s waters. The dispute is still active today.

The Comoros also face a complex issue. The islands lie in the Mozambique Channel between mainland Africa and Madagascar. In 1975, a vote was held on whether to become independent from former colonial ruler France. The Comoros consist of four islands. Voting took place by island, and only Mayotte chose to remain under French rule. Thus, three islands formed the Union of the Comoros, while Mayotte remained French territory. However, because breaking up a territory during the decolonization process runs counter to a UN General Assembly resolution, the Comoros have continued to claim that Mayotte belongs to them.

A sign in the Comoros reading “Mayotte belongs to the Comoros forever” (Photo: David Stanley/Flickr [CC BY 2.0]

Issues surrounding these territories

Seen this way, it is clear that each region has its own issues. Take Mayotte, mentioned above: in addition to the independence question, immigration is a serious problem. Migration and refugee issues are often discussed in the context of people coming across the Mediterranean from the Middle East and Africa, but similar dynamics occur in the Comoros. In 2014, Mayotte shifted from OCT to OR status, entering the EU. It also receives significant financial support from France, and its per capita GDP is ten times that of the remaining Comorian islands. As a result, people continually attempt to cross from the Union of the Comoros to Mayotte in unsafe boats, seeking to escape poverty and enter the EU. They seek jobs, healthcare, and better lives, but many die at sea. Similar problems are not limited to Mayotte. In the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa, people constantly attempt to enter from neighboring Morocco. Being the only piece of European territory on the African mainland means migrants do not need to cross the sea to reach Europe. African migrants climb the fences separating Ceuta from Morocco.

Nuclear testing has been a long-standing problem for islands that are part of great powers. In recent years it has been reported that the nuclear tests conducted in the 1960s and 1970s were far more dangerous than publicly acknowledged at the time, and that Tahiti was exposed to radiation levels 500 times the maximum permitted due to 20th-century tests. The French government carried out the tests knowing that the actual damage exceeded what was publicly recognized. In 2006, a French medical research institute found that cancer increased among residents of islands closer to the test sites. However, France did not recognize compensation for veterans and residents who might have developed cancer until 2010. Around 150,000 civilians and soldiers were involved in the testing at the time, yet only about 20 people actually received compensation.

Another problem is that many overseas territories are tax havens. The British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda drew attention as tax havens following the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers leaks. The UK has been compelled to take some measures in response to these leaks, but it has yet to pursue comprehensive action. The five-story building shown below is Ugland House in George Town, Cayman Islands, and about 20,000 companies are registered to this single building in name only. In other words, it houses numerous shell companies used to obscure money flows. The problems with tax havens are twofold. First, people in tax-haven-related professions earn high incomes, while ordinary residents do not, creating severe inequality. Second, although the tax haven itself may not suffer losses, other countries are harmed. By hiding financial information, tax havens allow money used for tax evasion and crime to pass through undetected. Such avoidance inflicts especially large losses on low-income countries. It remains to be seen how much transparency the UK will bring to the tax haven problem.

In this way, the EU extends beyond Europe and across the world. What independence would mean differs by region. And will New Caledonian independence ever become a reality? We will be watching closely.

Writer: Shiori Tomohara

Graphics: Saki Takeuchi

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