Millions of British, Dutch, French, Danish, Spanish, and Portuguese nationals permanently reside in the overseas parts of their Member States of the European Union. These people, like the companies registered in such territories, often find it virtually impossible to determine what law applies when legal decisions are required.
Although Article 52(1) of the EU Treaty clearly states that EU law applies in the territory of all the Member States, most Member State territories lying outside of Europe provide examples of legal arrangements deviating from this rule. These deviations can be gathered into a complex system of rules called the ‘EU law of the Overseas’.

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By Prof. Dimitry Kochenov, Groningen, editor of EU Law of the Overseas

Member States’ territories lying far away from the European continent either do not fall within the scope of EU law entirely (like the Faeroe Islands, for instance), are associated with the EU (like Aruba or New Caledonia), or are subject to EU law with serious derogations (like La Reunion or Canary Islands).
A huge gap thus exists between the application of EU law in Europe and in the overseas parts of the Member States.
Consequently, three different statuses granted to the Overseas can be roughly distinguished in EU law: territories sui generis, Overseas Countries and Territories Associated with the European Union, and Outermost Regions of the EU.

Distinction
Making a distinction between the application of EU law and national law to such territories is vital in this regard. This is so, since the two function differently: the status of a territory under EU law does not per se depend on the level of the territory’s incorporation into the constitutional structure of a given Member State.
In practice this means that a territory which is fully incorporated into a Member State in terms of national constitutional law, such as Bonaire, for instance, can enjoy exactly the same status in EU law as a non-incorporated and entirely self-governing territory, like Curaçao, or French Polynesia.
The level of intensity in the relationship of a given territory with the EU is thus a separate issue not automatically connected with that territory’s status in national constitutional law.

History
By examining the principles of Union law applicable to the overseas territories of the Member States, one can place such territories in the general context of the development of European integration. Starting with history is important in this regard.
At the inception of the EU half a century ago, the majority of such territories lay in Africa (covering a huge share of the continent) and could boast enormous economic potential, leading to the central idea in the minds of the founding fathers of European Integration related to the Eurafrican common market – a global economic integration project bound to result in a common economic space to unite the (then) European Economic Community and the overseas territories of its Member States.

Former colonies
Decolonization naturally meant the end of this idea, but also affected our thinking about the status to be enjoyed by such territories.
In contrast to a potentially central role, what remained of the former colonies was viewed more as a burden than an asset to be built upon.
This situation only started to change in recent years, with the European Commission referring to the Overseas as 'natural emissaries' of Europe, recognising their cultural and geopolitical importance for the success of the European integration project.
It is telling in this regard that the first book in English to address the legal position of such territories in EU law only appeared in 2011 (Kochenov (ed.), EU Law of the Overseas).

Key principles
Presently, key principles of the application of EU law in the main categories of the Overseas can be outlined.
The starting point is to state that the Overseas definitely form part of the Member States and thus belong to the EU, no matter whether EU law applies in full or not.
Associated countries enjoy a looser connection with the EU as the biggest bulk of EU law does not apply, unlike in the outermost regions, which concerns consumer protection and environmental legislation as well as customs legislation.
International human rights instruments, like the European Convention of Human Rights apply in full, however, just as the majority provisions on European citizenship, including European Parliament elections.

Gaps
Plentiful blank spots remain, however – the issue of applicability of EU law, which is of importance for millions of EU citizens, should be studied more closely, to fill in the looming gaps in the knowledge formed in the last decades when the overseas were most regrettably neglected.