Above: a banana plant (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The European Union has approved a one-off payment of up to $25 million for banana growers in French overseas departments including Martinique and Guadeloupe.

The funding is part of a total of $54 million approved for banana growers in the EU’s outermost regions.

The supranational body said the funding would “offset their lack of competitiveness and changing EU market conditions.”

Members of the European Parliament approved the informal deal on Tuesday. It was first struck by Parliament and Council negotiators in November.

“This agreement shows that the outermost regions remain at the heart of our policy even though most EU countries are cutting their budgets,” the EU said in a statement. “Citizens in remote areas of the EU do need ‘more Europe.'”

The EU did not give a breakdown of the funding by department.