BVI government in talks on OECS economic union

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

ROAD TOWN, BVI: A consultant for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) concluded a three-day visit to the British Virgin Islands last week, after holding a series of meetings with senior Government officials, relating to the creation of an economic union within the sub-region.

The consultant, Professor A. Ralph Carnegie, is Executive Director of the Caribbean Law Institute Centre at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. The discussions in the BVI, which focused on constitutional issues as they relate to the economic union, were similar to those taking place in other member states.

The initiative is hinged on the fact that OECS countries face a number of development challenges as a result of globalisation and trade liberalisation, which can only be effectively addressed through the creation of a single economic space to facilitate free movement of people, goods, services and capital. The result of this will be economic diversification and growth, greater export competitiveness, and more employment and human resource development.

Consequently, at the 34th Meeting of the OCES Authority in Dominica in July 2001, Heads of Governments agreed to create an economic union to deepen integration among member states. The OECS Secretariat has since prepared a two-year implementation plan, with participating member countries being Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The BVI, along with Anguilla, has delayed participation in the initiative, requesting time for further consideration.

In 2004, the Authority commissioned a technical committee to draft a new organisational treaty to pave the way for creating the economic union. Constitutional reform now being undertaken in member countries is expected to support the new treaty arrangements for establishing the initiative.

Professor Carnegie’s visit, therefore, was part of ongoing talks with OECS countries to determine how these constitutional reform processes will flow into the proposed economic union. Besides the BVI, he has now concluded visits to, Anguilla, Montserrat and Antigua and Barbuda. Another consultant held discussions in the remaining OECS member states.

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