Caribbean Lawmakers Urged to Establish Standing Mechanism for EU Engagement
Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Monday urged Caribbean parliamentarians to formalise their engagement with the European Union by establishing a standing consultative mechanism to coordinate regional positions and ensure follow-through on commitments.
Addressing the inaugural Caribbean–EU Parliamentary Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, Browne said the new forum would only be as effective as the discipline and seriousness Caribbean representatives bring to it.
“This joint EU-Caribbean Assembly will only be as strong as the discipline and seriousness we bring to it,” Browne told lawmakers. “If we approach it episodically, we will under-utilize its potential. If we approach it collectively with regularity, we can help to shape its outcomes.”
He proposed three practical steps to strengthen regional coordination and parliamentary oversight.
First, Browne suggested that Caribbean parliamentarians represented at the Assembly establish a standing consultative mechanism meeting at least twice annually to develop coordinated positions for engagement with European counterparts.
Second, he called for concise, action-oriented recommendations to be produced for national parliaments, focused on aligning domestic legislation and regulatory frameworks with agreed EU–Caribbean objectives in trade, logistics, security cooperation, food and energy systems, health partnerships and education access.
Third, Browne urged parliamentary follow-through, using oversight functions to track implementation and ensure commitments made at regional and international levels are reflected in national policy and budgets.
“This is how this Assembly can evolve and mature—from dialogue to direction, and from direction to delivery,” he said.
Browne said Caribbean engagement with the European Union must extend beyond trade and investment to include multidimensional security, food and energy resilience, health security and protection against transnational crime and climate disruption.
“Our engagement with the European Union must not be confined to trade and investment alone,” he said.
The three-day Assembly brings together parliamentarians from the Caribbean and the European Union under the framework of the Samoa Agreement, with discussions centred on climate resilience, trade, governance and regional stability.
Browne said structured coordination among Caribbean lawmakers would strengthen the region’s negotiating position and help translate high-level dialogue into measurable outcomes at the national level.
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