CARICOM-EU MEET IN GEORGETOWN

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Ministers of the Caribbean Forum of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) and representatives of the European Union (EU) are meeting in Georgetown, Guyana to discuss the framework for future relations between the Caribbean and Europe.

The round of meetings, which is being held at the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, began on Wednesday 15 February and will end on Thursday 16. Discussions centre around a draft policy paper prepared by the European Commission (EC) on the European strategy for the Caribbean. The EU-Caribbean strategy is being developed as part of a new EU Development Policy adopted in 2005 that forms the basis for EU engagements with third countries and groupings.

The new strategy looks at relations between the two regions at the political, economic and development levels. A similar strategy has been prepared for Africa while another is being developed for the Pacific region as Europe seeks to redefine its relations with its co-operation partners.

The current relations between Europe and the ACP are governed by the Cotonou Agreement, a trade and aid package that extends until 2020. The Agreement includes an aid package to support development and poverty reduction, and plans for new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) to support regional growth. The new relations are being structured in the context of the new global trading environment.