EU countries tardy in assisting the region implement EPA measures

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Outgoing Director General of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) Directorate, Ivan Ogando Lora, says European countries have not lived up to their promise of assisting regional countries in implementing measures contained in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed with Europe nearly five years ago. “With the exception of two states, EU member states have not lived up to their promise of extending bilateral Aid for Trade support to regional states grappling with the implementation of an unprecedented trade accord in the face of challenging capacity constraints, which have been made more severe by the downturn in the global economy,” Ogando said. The outgoing CARIFORUM official has however praised the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund) for assisting regional countries strengthen their capacities to implement measures contained in the EPA.