page_title: Special member state territories and the European Union
section_title: Canary Islands
hierarchical_section_title: Special member state territories and the European Union / Outermost regions / Canary Islands
caption_attribution_description: English: French Guiana: tropical forest towards Cacao. Panorama at Bellevue. Français&#160;: Guyane&#160;: vue sur la forêt tropicale en direction Cacao. Vue panoramique au lieu-dit Bellevue.
context_page_description: The special territories of the European Union are 22 dependent territories of EU member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union.
  The special territories divide themselves in three categories: 9 Outermost Regions that form part of the European Union, though they benefit from derogations from some EU laws due to their geographical remoteness from mainland Europe, 13 Overseas Countries and Territories that do not form part of the European Union, though they cooperate with the EU via the Overseas Countries and Territories Association, and 10 special cases that form part of the European Union, though EU law make ad hoc provisions.
  The Outermost Regions were recognised at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and confirmed by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that both primary and secondary European Union law applies automatically to the outermost regions, with possible derogations due to the particularities of these territories.
context_section_description: The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago off the African coast which form one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain–the country's principal first-level administrative division. They are outside the EU VAT Area. The Canary Islands are the most populous and economically strongest territory of all the outermost regions in the European Union. The outermost regions office for support and information is located in these islands, in the city of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria.
caption: French Guiana tropical forest, looking toward Cacao
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