This capacity-building initiative under the National EPA Coordinator Attachment Programme will run from July 21-25 and is organised by the CARIFORUM Directorate within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. Funded under the 11th European Development Fund Technical Cooperation Facility, it aims to enhance Member States’ capacity to effectively implement the EPA and leverage CARIFORUM’s trade relationship with the European Union.

During the week-long attachment, Mr. Wagner will learn more about the EPA and the operations of the EPA Implementation Unit through engagements with the specialists in Trade in Goods, Investment and Trade in Services and EPA Development Cooperation.

Since its inception in 2024, trade officials from St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Guyana and The Bahamas have participated in the National EPA Coordinator Attachment Programme. Through their attachment, it is hoped that EPA Coordinators will gain exposure to different EPA implementation structures, work plans, challenges, consultative processes, and practices, exchange information on national implementation actions and challenges and explore ways to address these challenges.

It is also anticipated that EPA Coordinators will identify methods to advance EPA implementation, build networks and connections for future collaboration and acquire new insights into problem-solving to enhance EPA implementation.

About The CARIFORUM-EU EPA:

The EPA between CARIFORUM States and the EU and its Member States was signed on October 15, 2008. It aims to liberalise trade between 15 CARIFORUM States and 27 EU countries on a reciprocal but asymmetrical basis.
This comprehensive trade and development agreement covers:

1. Market Access for Industrial and Agricultural products;
2. Services and Investment;
3. Trade-related issues such as competition policy, the environment, transparency in government procurement, innovation and intellectual property, social aspects, and personal data protection;
4. Development cooperation;
5. Legal and institutional issues.

She also called for SIDS to have access to concessional development financing, based on their special circumstances, which include their vulnerability to catastrophic climate-related disasters.

Dr. Barnett highlighted these issues on Tuesday, March 28, during a bilateral meeting with the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Americas and the Caribbean, Hon. David Rutley.

In the discussion on a range of topics that included the need for reform in the international financial architecture, and support for Haiti, CARICOM and the UK representatives pledged closer cooperation.

Dr. Barnett said CARICOM looks forward to the 11th Caribbean-UK Forum, which takes place in May in Jamaica for further discussions.

On Tuesday, Dr. Barnett called on the United Kingdom to use its influence in the international community to advocate for CARICOM which is perhaps the most vulnerable region to climate change, with impact felt on agriculture, fisheries, the erosion of coastlines and the influx of sargassum seaweed.

Dr. Barnett referenced the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, which warned that there is no time to lose to keep to the target of limiting the global average temperature to below 1.5°C. The IPCC latest report was released earlier in March and reiterated that there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. Actions to limit global average temperature to below 1.5°C must accelerate within the next seven years, the IPCC report warns.

Dr. Barnett told Mr. Rutley that CARICOM looks forward to closer cooperation with the UK on the road to the Twenty Eighth Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Convention of Climate Change, later this year in the United Arab Emirates. She added that SIDS are anticipating real outcomes to reverse the current trajectory of global warming which threatens their very survival.

On the issue of development financing, Dr. Barnett urged the UK to support CARICOM’s advocacy for international financial institutions (IFIs) to revisit their graduation policy, which locks out small and middle-income countries from access to concessional financing based on the “flawed criteria of GDP per capita.”

For a long time, SIDS have been leading the advocacy in the United Nations (UN) system for a form of measurement that recognises their ecological and economic vulnerabilities, and one that moves beyond the use of Gross National Income.

Against that backdrop, the CARICOM Secretary-General told Mr. Rutley that there is an urgent need for the international community to support the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) being championed in the UN. With the buy-in of the international community, the MVI is anticipated to help small island developing states access concessional financing to adapt to climate change, service debts, and secure insurance and compensation schemes for climate related disasters. 

For his part, the UK’s Parliamentary Under Secretary expressed appreciation for Dr. Barnett’s strong advocacy on the burning issues CARICOM and SIDS face. He pledged his country’s support in its spheres of influence.

The January 21-23 meeting, which will also be attended by officials from the European Union, is the culmination of an ACP-EU TradeCom11 Programme, and aims to present and validate the findings of a comparative research report on CARICOM and the EU as well as on the development and implementation of standards and associated technical regulations, the organisers said.

It is also intended to present and validate a study on the situation and use of sustainability standards in CARICOM and train stakeholders in EU standards and regulations on packaging and labelling.

The ACP-EU TradeCOm11 Programme, titled “Targeted assistance to strengthen regional trade related quality infrastructure through intra ACP partnerships CROSQ, ARSO and PIFS,” is being implemented to address improvement goals for regional quality infrastructure. It is being implemented by Quality Institute of Spain in collaboration with the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ).

“It is hoped that this collaboration and the resultant activities over the past year will assist in the development of CARICOM of intra-ACP trade, competitiveness, diversification and economic performance through strengthening of the regional quality infrastructure,” which refers to the development and implementation of standards, systems of weights and measurements, accreditation and conformity assessment regimes.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit based at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is convening the Stakeholder Consultation. The Consultation forms part of a consultancy which the Unit has been overseeing.

The consultancy is geared at formulating a Strategic Action Plan that will enable entertainers in CARIFORUM States to take advantage of development cooperation and trade opportunities under the EPA. The draft Action Plan will be under consideration at the Consultation.

The consultancy was made possible through funding from the United Kingdom Government’s Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund), which is also being utilized to support the Stakeholder Consultation. Financial support for the Consultation is also being provided by the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

The Consultation, which represents a key milestone in efforts to ensure stakeholders from the regional Cultural Industry are well-positioned to leverage the EPA to gain access to the EU Market, has five objectives: (i) develop a common understanding of the specific major opportunities for trade in cultural services from CARIFORUM countries, and the major constraints to taking advantage of these opportunities; (ii) identify current best practices in the development of cultural industries and promotion of trade in cultural services; (iii) clarify the roles and responsibilities of the regional agencies, national agencies and private firms (entertainment management companies, agents and promoters) involved in the development and promotion of cultural industries in CARIFORUM countries and ongoing and planned sector development initiatives; (iv) identify short-term implementation priorities and establish an interim committee to kick-start the implementation process; and (v) develop a results-focused Regional Action Plan for the Development of the Cultural Industries, including a framework for managing the implementation of the Action Plan.

Representatives from the Cultural Department in CARIFORUM States’ public sectors and a leading private sector organization in the performing arts, music or audiovisuals, in each State, are to participate in the Consultation.

During the engagement, strong emphasis will be on consideration of Action Plan priorities spanning: legislative and regulatory requirements; support for market development; sustaining market presence; increasing the volume and value of trade in goods and services; finding and securing partnerships to increase investment; resource requirements and funding.

Drawing on the foregoing priorities, the highlight of the Stakeholder Consultation will be the identification of short-term implementation priorities. Focus is expected to be on the development of a framework for managing the implementation of the Action Plan and assignation of oversight of the implementation process.

The Consultation will be facilitated by the experts retained to develop the Strategic Action Plan. Other resource persons are drawn from KEA European Affairs, the World Music Expo (WOMEX), London Film School, Question Mark Entertainment, Visual and Performing Arts Jamaica (VAPJ). The Regional EPA Implementation Unit’s Trade in Services and Investment Specialist, Ms S.H. Allyson Francis, also will serve as a resource person.

Presentations will be delivered by experts in music, audiovisual and performing arts who understand the requirements and challenges of EU market entry by actors from third-states.

The CARIFORUM-EU EPA includes a Protocol on Cultural Cooperation which, inter alia, provides for cultural cooperation between the EU and CARIFORUM States. The entertainment industry, which is a subset of the cultural/creative industry, represents a substantial and important area of actual and potential economic growth for CARIFORUM economies.

The fifteen signatory CARIFORUM States to the EPA are the independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.

CONTACT:  
Nand C. Bardouille
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit
nbardouille@caricom.org

The Workshop addressed the capacity of Governments and energy stakeholders in charge of developing standards and provided guidance on opportunities and challenges linked to energy efficiency measures and renewable energy conversion technologies in buildings. A roundtable was held to debate future challenges, gaps and barriers linked to the implementation of energy efficiency standards, ways to advance discussions on this topic with policymakers, and next steps for their successful deployment. The Delegates also highlighted the need to create greater public awareness in the Caribbean with regard to energy efficiency.

Approximately 40 participants from the National Standards Bodies and Energy Desks of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, delegates from the European Union, the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the Embassy of Mexico in Saint Lucia, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat, the Government of Germany through its Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP/GIZ), engineers and members of the Saint Lucia Institute of Architects attended the event.

Participants provided feedback on the prospective guidelines on energy efficiency designs for office buildings, which were developed the Consultants Trama TecnoAmbiental (TTA).  Paulo Cesar Galván Tobón, from the Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE) of Mexico, announced his Government’s willingness to support the efforts of Caribbean nations in the advancement of energy efficiency policies and regulations.

The meeting agreed to further strengthen EU-CARIFORUM cooperation in key common areas, HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Crime and Security.

Coming just four weeks after the expansion of the European Union by a further ten Members on 1 May 2004, the meeting this weekend, brought together CARIFORUM Heads of Government, senior officials of The Caribbean Community, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the Secretary-General of CARICOM and CARIFORUM, and the President of the Caribbean Development Bank.

The CARIFORUM delegation was led by the Hon. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, current Chairman of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government. The European Union, represented by the Troika, fielded a delegation led by Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of the Republic of Ireland, current President of the European Union, including the President of the European Commission, Mr. Romano Prodi.

For additional information, contact Mr. David Hales, Caribbean Community Secretariat, dhales@caricom.org

1  15 CARIFORUM Member States: (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago)

Leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the shared values of respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights and to people-centred development. They further reaffirmed their commitment to the global fight against all forms of terrorism and to the promotion of international peace and security, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.

They noted that the relationship between the European Union and CARIFORUM, in the context of the Cotonou Agreement, is based on partnership, mutual respect and cooperation, with the aim of promoting sustainable development, the eradication of poverty and the integration of the CARIFORUM countries into the world economy.

Leaders recognised the value of the bi-regional strategic partnership between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean and the role of the CARIFORUM countries in the development of that relationship.

They discussed the enlargement of the European Union which took place on 1st May 2004 and welcomed it as an opportunity to expand and deepen economic, political, social and cultural relations between the regions.

They underscored the value of a successful conclusion of an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and CARIFORUM, negotiations for which were launched in Kingston Jamaica 16th April 2004. They emphasised that this Agreement will be primarily an effective tool for sustainable development, taking into account the special characteristics of the CARIFORUM countries.

Leaders noted the advancement of the process for the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy as an integral step towards deeper and more effective integration of the region.

They discussed the challenges faced in global markets by commodity exporters of the CARIFORUM, in particular the problems of unstable markets and declining prices and recognised the need to support the adjustment process being undertaken in order to ensure their smooth integration into the world economy.

Leaders reiterated support for the multilateral trading system which is responsive to the development needs and conditions of developing countries, such as those in the Caribbean. In this regard they emphasized the need for the conclusion of the ongoing multilateral trade negotiations within the WTO in a manner which will facilitate the effective integration of developing countries, such as those of the Caribbean, into the liberalised global economy.

Both sides reaffirmed their strong commitment to cooperate in the fight against poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS and poverty related diseases, illegal trafficking in drugs and arms, and related crimes.

Leaders expressed their deepest sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the recent floods in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and they call upon the international community to provide emergency and humanitarian aid. The European Union side undertook to continue to work in close cooperation with the national authorities in the two countries and their other Latin American and Caribbean partners in order to ensure an effective response to the disaster. The European Union also indicated it would continue its cooperation with the two countries with a view to assisting their recovery and improving their capacity in disaster prevention and preparedness.

Leaders recognised the need for effective solutions to confront the challenges faced by the fragile ecosystems of the Caribbean and agreed to work towards a constructive and action-oriented outcome of the UN Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), to be held in Mauritius in 2005. They acknowledged the call by the Caribbean to have the Caribbean Sea declared as a special area in the context of sustainable development, in accordance with the UN Resolution 54/225. They reiterated their commitment to cooperation in the areas of disaster management, preparedness and mitigation.

They underscored the need for effective follow-up to the aforementioned deliberations and agreed to further meetings in the framework of the EU-LAC Bi-regional Strategic Partnership.

Guadalajara, Mexico
29 May 2004

The Seminar is part of the Action Plan adopted by the ACP Trade Ministers and endorsed by the ACP Council of Ministers for developing negotiating positions for the next round of ACP-EU trade negotiations, which are due to begin in September 2002.

The Regional Seminar is being organised by the CARICOM and ACP Secretariats, with funding from the European Union. It will provide an opportunity for representatives of Governments, the private sector, labour, regional organisations, academia and civil society to contribute to the development of options which the Region may consider as it seeks to influence the approach of the ACP Group to the forthcoming negotiations.

In June 2000, the ACP and EU signed a Partnership Agreement in Cotonou, Benin, in which they agreed, among other things, to conclude new WTO-compatible trading arrangements, progressively removing barriers to trade between them, and enhancing cooperation in all areas relevant to trade. These new trading arrangements should enter into force in January 2008. The Cotonou Agreement is a comprehensive development cooperation accord with a twenty-year duration, which has as its primary objectives the reduction and ultimate eradication of poverty, the attainment of sustainable development and the gradual integration of ACP countries into the world economy.

The Hon. Clement Rohee, Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation of Guyana, will deliver the feature address. Ms. Adelaide Mkhonza, Assistant Secretary-General, Sustainable Economic Development at the ACP Secretariat; Mr. Vincent De Visscher, Head of the EU Delegation for Guyana and Suriname; and Dr. Richard Bernal, Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery will deliver statements at the opening session.