constituent territory within the French Republic, with regards
to the European Union, Mayotte remains an 'Overseas country and territory'
(OCT) in association with the Union (as per Article 355(2)
TFEU) and not a constituent territory of the European Union in the same way as
the other four overseas
departments. However following a unanimous vote in the European Council on 12
June 2012, Mayotte will now become an outermost
region of the European Union on 1 January 2014. This successful agreement between the
27 member states follows a petition made by the French government for Mayotte
to become an integral territory of the European Union nonetheless benefiting
from the derogation clause applicable in existing Outermost regions, namely
Article 349 TFEU, as favoured in a June 2012 European Commission opinion on
Mayotte's European constitutional status
