The Caribbean and the EU-CELAC Synergy

7/30/2019 The Caribbean and the EU-CELAC Synergy

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ADDRESS BY EU-LAC FOUNDATION PRESIDENT BENITAFERRERO-WALDNER AT THE INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR THECARIBBEAN AND THE CELAC-EU SYNERGY

Brussels, International Seminar, 14 May 2013

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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all it is good to be back, to Brussels and I am very happy to see such a wideparticipation at this. It is already the third event the Foundation is co-organising on theCaribbean:

The first one took place in October in Santo Domingo and was organised by one of ourStrategic Partners, the Fundacin Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE),whose President, ex President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernndez is also herewith us today and whom I greet very cordially.

The second one took place a few weeks later in Paris. It was organised by one of ourEuropean Strategic Partner, the Institut des Amriques, together with IRELAC, anddiscussed regional integration processes in the Caribbean and their implications for thepartnership with the EU.

IRELAC and the Institut des Amriques are also our co-organisers today, and I want tothank them very particularly for their efforts.

The fact that we are organising this series of events on the Caribbean shows the greatimportance we, at the EU-LAC Foundation, attribute to this sub-region. The first twoseminars were very fruitful indeed. Together with the experience we have gatheredduring the first one and a half years of functioning of the EU-LAC Foundation, theyhave led us to realise that we needed to do something very fundamental: we need toreflect on the role of the Caribbean within the bi-regional EU-CELAC StrategicPartnership. It is extremely important that the Caribbean be fully involved in it.

I am convinced that indeed the Caribbean can benefit a lot from this partnership, andthat it also has a lot to contribute. The EU-CELAC partnership is not complete withoutthe Caribbean. And that is why we are here today.

The increasing participation and relevance of the Caribbean are strategic for enhancingthe CELAC-EU partnership.There are several reasons that support our argumentation:

o First, the foundations for cooperation between the Caribbean and the EUare based on common cultural and historical ties as well as common


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values such as democratic liberties, the rule of law and respect for humanrights

o Second, the Caribbean is of geopolitical importance to the EU since theCaribbean Outermost Regions (ORs) and the Associated OverseasCountries and Territories (OCTs) are part of the European Union. But the

Caribbean is also vital to Latin America, as a global partner and not leastdue to its geographical proximity. In a sense, the Caribbean is whereLatin America and the EU mix and merge some parts of the regionbelong to the EU, some identify as Latin American. But the Caribbeanalso has a distinct identity, culturally, politically, linguistically, andeconomically, as well as distinct interests and requirements. Indeed, tospeak of the Caribbean as one homogeneous bloc would be to neglect theenormous diversity of the region, which is sometimes a challenge, butmore often an asset that we must acknowledge and value more clearly inour bi-regional relationship. I am very happy indeed to see that, today,we have assembled a round of experts that also reflects this diversity.

o Third, the positive economic performance experienced by the Caribbeanand the good growth perspective for 2013 suggest broad opportunities forinvestment and trade, as well as fortifying bi-regional cooperation infields like research, innovation and sustainable development, inaccordance with the established activities in the EU-CELAC Action Plan2013-2015.On average, Latin America and the Caribbean countries will grow by3.5% in 2013. A growth of 6% is predicted for Haiti, while the DominicanRepublic will have a rise in GDP of 3% and the overall Caribbean growthrate will continue to accelerate, with an expected increase of 2.0%,according to a report from ECLAC.1Taking into account the downturn of many European economies, there isa calling for further integration between the two regions, where the

Caribbean has an important role to play.However, there are essential variations among the Caribbean countries ineconomic growth and opportunities that we need to address. Despite itshigh growth rate, Haiti remains the LAC regions only Least DevelopedCountry. The EU and the CELAC should jointly consider how they canassist Haiti on its road to recovery and development, reinforcing theefforts made on behalf of CARICOM and the EU according to the JointCaribbean EU Partnership Strategy.In particular, the Caribbean realities are different from those ofcontinental Latin America, and this must not be forgotten in the bi-regional relationship.

In the case of the Caribbean we have to take into account the Social

Economic disparity that are still more clearly outlined than those of Latin-

1 According to Updated economic overview of Latin America and the Caribbean 2012 elaboratedby the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean- ECLAC(http://www.eclac.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/2/49712/P49712.xml&xsl=/publicaciones/ficha-i.xsl&base=/publicaciones/top_publicaciones-i.xsl)


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America, to which have to be added important social, cultural andlinguistic differences.

Considering its size and economic characteristic, the Caribbean countriescan be classified as three groups:- The first, the most important economies, like Cuba, Haiti and the

Dominican Republic that represent 83% of the Caribbean populationand two thirds of its GDP.

- A second group consisting of Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad andTobago representing 7% of the population and 14% of its regionalGDP and finally - A third group where we find the small insulareconomies that make up for 10% of the population and 17% of itsGDP.

- The latter has been beaten very hard by the crisis. This islands areindeed the most vulnerable ones since depending on tourism,remittances, energy imports and a very little diversified exportbasket.

o Furthermore, as I have already mentioned, the Caribbean faces somespecific challenges that call for a reinforced integration of the sub-regioninto the CELAC framework and in the CELAC-EU partnership in order totackle these topics with joint strategies and initiatives. To this end, the biregional EU-CELAC agenda should consider the Caribbean specificallywhen discussing those topics that are particularly pertinent to the region,such as the diversification of productivity, competitiveness, financialreform, as well as policies aimed at the adaptation to the effects of climatechange and at its mitigation, investments in renewable energies, civilprotection against natural disaster, and the issues of security and drugtrafficking.

o Finally, parallel cooperation mechanisms could be aligned with eachother and with the overall EU-CELAC agenda, to create synergic effectsand contribute to a deepened regional integration, including the JointCaribbean - EU Partnership strategy, the EU - OCT association, and theCARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.

These are just a few points that we should consider. The final goal of our efforts is toturn the countries of the Caribbean into active participants of the EU-CELACpartnership, providing a forum that all of its members value and from which theybenefit.

How this can be done is the subject of this Seminar. We have invited you as experts tohelp us identify those operational steps and specific actions that would facilitate thefurther integration of Caribbean into the EU-CELAC bi-regional partnership, in order tojointly address the current challenges and opportunities, and to eventually maximize thebenefits of the special bi-regional partnership.

We have structured the seminar into three round tables to discuss issues that we havealready identified as essential. However, we should not let ourselves be limited by thisagenda. I want to encourage you to also use especially the first panel session to think


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outside the box, to use the breaks to continue discussion and to identify those areas andaspects that may still be missing.

At the EU-LAC Foundation, we are committed to involving all Members of the EU-CELAC Strategic Partnership fully into our association. The Foundation is there for allits 61 Members. With your help, I am sure we can come closer to our goal. I wish you

and us all the best for todays seminar.Thank you.

Documents

The Caribbean and the EU-CELAC Synergy