Glossary

On-the-spot checks/visits refer to checks undertaken by FLC (and Managing Authorities) on the premises of a project partner or any other project-related site, for example in order to verify existence and reality of purchased goods and equipment. Often understood as referring to checks undertaken by FLC, JS or AA.

An Opinion is an instrument that allows the institutions to make a statement in a non-binding fashion, in other words without imposing any legal obligation on those to whom it is addressed. An opinion is not binding. It can be issued by the main EU institutions (Commission, Council, Parliament), the Committee of the Regions, and the European Economic and Social Committee. While laws are being made, the committees give opinions from their specific regional or economic and social viewpoint.

The term "outermost regions" refers to nine regions in the European Union: the five French overseas departments (Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte); the French overseas communities of Saint-Martin; the Spanish Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands; and the Portuguese autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. The outermost regions have to cope with a number of specific constraints such as remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, and economic dependence on only a few products. The combination of these factors over time severely hinders the regions' socio-economic development. The recognition of their special status in Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is based on the principles of equality and proportionality, which allow regions to be treated differently in order to take their specific circumstances into account.