The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are 14 territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain in British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and, except for Gibraltar, are not part of the European Union. Most of the permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. Three are inhabited only by a transitory population of military or scientific personnel. They all share the British monarch (Elizabeth II) as head of state.

As of April 2018 the Minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, is the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN. The other three territories are the responsibility of the Minister of State for Europe and the Americas.

The term “British Overseas Territory” was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, replacing the term British Dependent Territory, introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981. Before 1 January 1983, the territories were officially referred to as British Crown Colonies.

Although the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch, they are in a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms, a group of 16 independent countries (including the United Kingdom) each having Elizabeth II as their reigning monarch, and from the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of 53 countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire (which also includes all Commonwealth realms).

The overseas departments and regions of France (Départements et régions d’outre-mer, DROM) are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainland France’s regions and departments. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations (France’s civil code, penal code, administrative law, social laws, tax laws, etc.) apply to French overseas regions the same as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region’s particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas regions cannot themselves pass new laws.

As integral parts of France and the European Union, overseas departments are represented in the National Assembly, Senate, and Economic and Social Council, vote to elect members of the European Parliament (MEP), and also use the euro as their currency. The overseas departments and regions are not the same as the overseas collectivities, which have a semi-autonomous status.

Each overseas department is the sole department in its own overseas region (région d’outre-mer) with powers identical to the regions of metropolitan France. Because of the one-to-one correspondence, informal usage does not distinguish the two, and the French media uses the term département d’outre-mer (DOM) almost exclusively.

Since March 2011, the five overseas departments and regions of France are:

• French Guiana in South America;
• Guadeloupe in the Caribbean;
• Martinique in the Caribbean;
• Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa;
• Réunion in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa.

Guadeloupe and Réunion each have separate departmental and regional councils, while in Mayotte, Guiana and Martinique, the two layers of government are consolidated so one body wields both sets of powers. The overseas departments acquired these additional powers in 1982, when France’s decentralisation policy dictated that they be given elected regional councils and other regional powers; however, the term “overseas region” was only introduced with the French constitutional amendment of 28 March 2003.

Plazas de soberanía

The plazas de soberanía (Strongholds of sovereignty) is a term describing a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term is used for those territories that have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern country (1492–1556), as opposed to African territories acquired by Spain during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Scramble for Africa.

Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called “major places of sovereignty”, comprising the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the “minor places of sovereignty”, referring to a number of islands (and a small peninsula) along the coast. In the present, the term refers mainly to the latter.

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, was an island until a 1934 storm formed a sand bridge with the mainland). They are guarded by military garrisons and administered directly by the Spanish central government.

Like Ceuta and Melilla, they are a part of Spain, therefore also part of the European Union, and their currency is the euro.
Morocco claims sovereignty over the plazas de soberanía, including Ceuta and Melilla.