Report: President's trip to Paris and Brussels

A progress update with the government on the blockages linked to reconstruction

The President traveled to Paris and Brussels, from June 25 to 29, 2018, to attend several working meetings.

Monday June 25, he spoke with the Prime Minister's overseas advisor, Xavier Brunetière, then with the Minister of Overseas Affairs Annick Girardin.
< br />Several important issues were discussed during these two interviews. Among the points discussed, the payment of the Overseas Relief Fund (FSOM) for individuals and businesses, still pending, 10 months after IRMA; 1,500 files are currently pending. At the request of the President, the State has undertaken to unblock the situation which penalizes many business leaders, in particular taxi drivers who are not eligible for this fund and for whom the State has undertaken to find intermediate solutions.

The President also insisted on the blockages linked to reimbursements under the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF). Here too, many files are awaiting finalization, Matignon will ensure that the process is accelerated.

Regarding the €6 million granted by the State after Irma for the reconstruction of social housing in Saint-Martin, the community has still not received this amount. The minister confirmed that the community would shortly receive this money to be able to distribute it between the three social landlords of the territory within the framework of a framework agreement.

The President also insisted on the problem of algae Sargassum and the need not to forget Saint-Martin when distributing the envelope of 3 million euros released by the State to help the Antilles islands impacted by this phenomenon of environmental pollution. Saint-Martin should receive part of this sum, the amount remains to be defined... the community is also eligible for program 123 of the overseas budget to cover certain operating costs inherent to the implementation of training and integration sites for collecting algae. As for the investment aspect, calls for projects led by ADEME were recently launched.

Regarding the consideration of the GDP of Saint-Martin in the National GDP and the creation of statistical tools on the territory of the community (an eternal request from the territorial executive), the Minister for Overseas Territories indicated that the Community would have the possibility of having its wishes included in the next convergence plan.

On the question of covering the RSA, the minister confirmed that only Guyana and Mayotte were affected by a renationalization of this social benefit. According to the government, the community of Saint-Martin will have to continue to bear this burden and is therefore invited to review its allocation criteria, to strengthen its control policy and to optimize the addressing system in order to better support this expense.

The question of maintaining a competitive post-LODEOM social security charge exemption regime (support for SMEs) was addressed by President Gibbs. According to the minister, the improvement in tax exemption and arbitrations will continue until the next Finance Law Program. Saint-Martin should not have any particular system. The Ministry of Overseas Territories has, however, committed to releasing €100,000 in aid as part of an Atout France/Business France partnership intended to support Saint-Martin hoteliers on engineering projects.

Regional cooperation discussed in Brussels

President Daniel Gibbs met in Brussels, on June 27 and 28, the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Antonio Tajani, as well as the Director General of the Directorate in charge of regional policy of the European Commission, Mr. Marc Le Maître.

These two meetings, organized within the framework of the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions (CPRUP), took place at the right time, since the European Commission presented its budgetary and regulatory proposals a few days ago for the period 2021-2027.

The coming months will thus prove crucial in bringing the voice of the Outermost Regions, including that of Saint-Martin, to the French government which sits on the European Council and to of European deputies to achieve the adoption of regulatory texts and financial envelopes commensurate with the stated challenges.

The ORs are now integrated into almost all regulatory proposals (i.e. 20 proposals for regulation), which is unprecedented. Measures for our regions are planned on the basis of Article 349 TFEU.

The President recalled that just like Europe, Saint-Martin is also facing new challenges, showing a structural delay worsened by the passage of Hurricane Irma. He also highlighted the reduction in co-financing rates, particularly in the context of cohesion policy, as being a sensitive point. This rate going from 85% to 70% in the Commission's regulatory proposals, which is a handicap for Saint-Martin.

The President welcomed the European institutions which allocated financial aid of 46 million € under the Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for cleaning operations, restoration of basic infrastructure (energy, water, health and education), for costs linked to emergency services intended for emergency needs immediate measures, as well as measures to protect cultural heritage.

On the sidelines of these meetings, the Presidents of the ORs also met the President of the Committee of the Regions, Mr. Karl-Heinz Lambertz and signed with him the alliance for cohesion.

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