The View From Europe

Just over two weeks ago Caricom issued a statement that was probably without precedent in its long relationship with the United States. 

Earlier this month Exxon announced that that it had made a major new oil find off Guyana.

President Castro could not have been clearer. Speaking before Christmas to the Cuban National Assembly about the US, he said that the country had in 2017 “witnessed a serious, irrational deterioration in relations”.

At the end of November, the Cuban government hosted an unusual meeting.

By law, every US President must publish a national security strategy.

A little over a week ago, private sector associations from around the Caribbean agreed to establish by June of next year a new regional body able to represent their interests authoritatively to Caricom. 

No one likes to pay taxes. Despite this, there is widespread recognition that their imposition is necessary if citizens are to be provided with social services such as education, health care and pensions.

A new and potentially challenging way of thinking about the future of tourism is evolving.

For decades, the Caribbean has been fixated on the need to export to, and import from its traditional markets in North America and Europe.

Just over a week ago the US administration published new regulations governing travel and trade between the US and Cuba.

In just over a week’s time, Jamaica will host a major international conference intended to reposition tourism as a global driver of sustainable development.

In a few days’ time, CARICOM’s Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) will meet.

On October 10, a report appeared in the Russian media indicating that Russia and Suriname are close to signing a military cooperation agreement.

In most OECS nations, citizenship is available at a cost. It can be purchased by almost anyone who can afford it.

A week or so ago, Caricom’s Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque, made clear that if the Caribbean is ever to be able to respond sustainably to the devastation caused by climate change, the eligibility criteria for development assistance must change.

On October 2, two of the world’s leading humanitarian relief agencies, Oxfam and Save the Children, felt it necessary to speak out about the inadequate US federal response to the emerging disaster in Puerto Rico.

Today, October 1, the European Union’s sugar regime, which has for decades sustained the production of cane and raw sugar in the Caribbean, comes to an end.

Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme published a report on the impact of climate change on Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

In an age when most in the business of tourism are seeking to increase their income by selling authenticity to millennials and baby-boomers, it is perhaps puzzling that another rapidly growing industry segment now wants to deliver just the opposite.

A year from now, negotiations will begin for a successor agreement to the Cotonou Convention.