Corsica and European Integration

Abstract

The process of European integration has only recently impacted on Corsica, which, before 1983, had been incorporated by Brussels within the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region. Concomitant with the implementation of the 1982 statute was the first Community battle over whether or not the island should be considered as a separate entity, with its own timetable for establishing a separate identity. The broadening of the Community in the first half of the 1980s, alongside the gradual shaping of a true Community policy on regional development, would alter Corsica’s position quite considerably. The strained dialogue between Corsica and the French Republic was replaced by a three-way debate, whereby the Community played an increasingly important role, due to the growing influence of regional policy sanctioned by the 1987 Single European Act.