Caribbean Integration Takes A Lesson From The European Experience

"We march with our constituents. It's a question of building confidence, of ensuring there's no disproportion in benefits, treatment or access." In separate citizen referenda earlier this year, the Dutch and French voted down a proposed European Union constitution against the advice of their elected leaders. Caricom is a regional body that includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. (Haiti still has status in the group, but isn't invited to officially participate until it holds credible elections.) The transformation of Caricom to a single market economy is moving ahead, and by year's end the only member nations expected to be outside the economic arrangement are the Bahamas and Haiti. Formal political and monetary unions are still in the exploratory phase. "While there are lessons from Europe for us, it's equally as important that we don't exaggerate," he said. "In the case of the EU, they were going with a higher and more sophisticated form of integration, including adjustments in constitutional arrangements. That had obvious implications for sovereignty, and we have not reached that point in the Caribbean." The 53-member African Union is another geographic bloc that shares lessons with Caricom, said Dr. Anthony, in an interview. Full article: http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/july/20/stlucia/ [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on July 23, 2005]

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