Caribbean/EU climate change Summit set

A Caribbean-European Union (EU) Summit to discuss the region’s climate change worries is to be scheduled for the second half of 2010, confirmed President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, in the wake of the Summit of CARIFORUM* Heads of State and their 27 EU counterparts in Madrid, 17 May. .

Low-lying Caribbean states are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and other changes in the marine environment caused by climate change. Foreign Minister of Barbados, Maxine McClean, who is current chair of the Caribbean trading bloc, CARIFORUM told the Summit that the earthquake in Haiti “is proof and an example of the tough reality of climate change”. At the Madrid summit she said that the EU’s whole economic development strategy should be changed to, “take into account of the significance of global warming for developing countries.”

At the CARIFORUM-EU Summit, which prededed a trilateral summit of Latin America, CARIFORUM and EU Heads of State in Madrid on 18 May, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Genadines, speaking for all CARIFORUM countries, said that bi-lateral trade agreements struck up by the EU with other parts of the world – including with Latin America - should not be at the expense of the Caribbean region. He requested that the EU urgently carry out an impact study on the accelerated EU liberalisation with Latin America on CARIFORUM economies.

Prime Minister Gonsalves added that the Caribbean’s efforts to deal with the global crisis and to deepen and expand regional integrtaion would come to nothing if the EU did not honour provisions in the Cotonou partnership (2000-2010) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and Economic Partnership Agreement. The latter is a comprehensive trade liberalisation and development agreement signed between CARIFORUM and the EU at the end of 2008.

Subtitle: Dilution of Caribbean industry

Referring specifically to trade in rum, Ralph Gonsalves said that the EU’s recently concluded association agreements with Peru and Colombia will dilute CARIFORUM’s own rum industry. “It is expected that concessions even more favourable than those extended to Peru and Colmbia will be extended [by the EU] to Central America, and in due course MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) as those negotiations move forward,” said Gonsalves.

He added: “The situation is compounded by the fact that Latin American rum producers are exporting bottled rums which contravene the regulations governing claims of age thereby misleading consumers as to the true age of the rum they purchase.CARIFORUM rum producers correctly apply EU regulations.” Gonsalves also called for the EU to disburse €10M of the remaining €70M 10-year package pledged back in 2000 to enable Caribbean rum producers to develop branded rums. This programme, funded under the European Development Fund (EDF) is due to expire at the end of June 2010. He requested that support for CARIFORUM’s rum industry also be extended.

In adddition to rum, Gonsalves said that bananas, sugar, rice produced by CARIFORUM countries were threatened by the EU’s opening up to Latin American countries. He called on the EU to expedite the delivery of promised assistance for the the national adaptation strategies of banana exporting CARIFORUM countries and to reduce the bureaucratic and technical delays resulting in the unsatisfactory disbursement under the ‘Accompanying Measures’ programme for sugar. Further, he warned that annual quota increases for rice exports from Latin America to the EU under the bi-lateral free trade agreements will negatively affect CARIFORUM’s rice industry

Gonsalves also suggested that the EU should collaborate with CARIFORUM on improving the Caribbean region’s food security. “Agriculture remains an important contributor to rural development, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and export earnings in our region,” Gonsalves told EU Heads of State. He said the region’s food import bill exceeds $US2bn annually. Whereas the returns on investment in agriculture in the CARIFORUM region are dwindling, at the same time, it faces volatile food and agricultural prices.

Gonsalves suggested that the EU support a food security programme for the region including a bio-security policy, agribusiness development and agricultural health and food safety laboratories and systems.

CARIFORUM countries would also like to see more Caribbean beneficiaries of the EU’s ‘Vulnerability Flex’ mechanism. (‘V Flex’). This two-year €500M fund was set up in December 2009 to cushion the blow of the global crisis for ACP nations. Eleven African, but only two Caribbean countris – Haiti and Grenada - were allocated funds under the 2009 mechanism. Seven out of the 36 requests for funds for 2010 are from CARIFORUM states. Allocations for 2010 are expected to be announced later in the year. Gonsalves suggested that the duration of the mechanism be expanded and that it is made it available to such as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)** which had already moved to full monetary union. Said Gonsalves: “Let there be no doubt that EU Financing Mechansims like the V-Flex, can play an even greater role in supporting Caribbean development than it currently does.”

* CARIFORUM members: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago ** OECS members: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and theGrenadines

Find out more: www.eu2010.es/en/www.caricom.org/