(
7a) Given that harmful effects on the environment and climate frequently arise from the activities of countries in the vicinity of the Union, particular attention should be given to its external border, OCTs and outermost regions so as to ensure the necessary strategic guarantees and to prevent damage to the environment; given, moreover, that the French outermost regions are excluded from Natura 2000 because Directives 92/43/EC and 2009/147/EC do not take into account to, or list, their fauna, flora or habitats; in view of the Message from Reunion Island of July 2008 and in accordance with the Council conclusions of 10 December 2011, which encouraged the
...[+++]Commission and the Member States to promote a joint approach to nature conservation throughout the Union, including in the outermost regions and overseas countries and territories of the Member States, as well as in accordance with the Commission communication entitled ‘Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020’, in which the Commission undertook to expand and encourage the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of European Overseas (BEST) initiative, this Regulation should, as part of its sub-programme for Environment, make biodiversity and ecosystem services in the outermost regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU a specific ongoing area of priority, thus consolidating the BEST preparatory action, which was launched in 2011 and has proved to be very successful; and as stated in Article 58 of Council Decision 2001/822/EC 2001 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community (‘Overseas Association Decision’)overseas countries and territories shall be eligible for Community programmes, subject to the rules and objectives of the programmes and the arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the overseas countries and territories are linked.