11th European Development Fund (11th EDF) Programme – CARICOM https://caricom.org Caribbean Community Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:10:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 Belize’ trade official on week-long attachment at CARIFORUM’s EPA Unit https://caricom.org/belize-trade-official-on-week-long-attachment-at-cariforums-epa-unit/ Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:10:08 +0000 https://caricom.org/?p=46967 (CARIFORUM Directorate, CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown) – The regional Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit is conducting a week-long capacity building programme for Belize’s Trade Economist, Mr. Julton Wagner, as part of its ongoing support to CARIFORUM States to implement the CARIFORUM-European Union EPA.

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.



]]> Disaster preparedness in the region continues to benefit from EU support https://caricom.org/disaster-preparedness-in-the-region-continues-to-benefit-from-eu-support/ Sat, 05 Jul 2025 04:34:55 +0000 https://caricom.org/?p=46693 (CARIFORUM Directorate, CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) – The Steering Committee of the Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM Programme, a regional disaster risk management initative, met recently in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines to review progress in implementing the 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF) Programme.

Committee Members are drawn from the CARIFORUM Directorate, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Barbados National Disaster Management Organisation (NDMO), Delegation of the European Union to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, CARICOM/CARIFORUM, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the Dominican Republic National Emergency Commission (CNE).

Chair of the Committee Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam, Director General of CARIFORUM, recalled the rationale behind the project. She highlighted some of the activities undertaken since the Programme commenced in 2019 and lauded the constructive collaboration among the implementing partners.

L-R Michele Forbes, Director of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director, CDEMA; Louanne Thomas, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Security, St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Alexis Downes Amsterdam, Director General CARIFORUM, Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director, CDEMA,

The Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM Programme contributes to the reduction of the vulnerability to disaster risks through capacity building, institutional support, and coordination.

Resources provided under the Programme supplement that provided in national budgets to mitigate the impacts of events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. The Programme also aims to build resilience to environmental challenges in CARIFORUM States by strengthening preparedness, response, and recovery mechanisms.

Other participants of the meeting.

With a €14M funding support under the 11th EDF, the Programme is executed through cooperation among the European Union, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, and the Dominican Republic National Emergency Commission (CNE).

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