BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will be among a number of critical topics regional leaders will be discussing at the 41st Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government scheduled for Thursday (Oct. 29).
The meeting, which will be chaired by the current Head of CARICOM, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, will be undertaken via a video-conferencing.
According to CARICOM, the meeting would also examine the financial and economic development implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The discussions will follow the Special Emergency Meetings held by the Heads in May, August and September as part of their efforts to harmonise their responses to, and policies on the multifaceted impact of COVID-19.
“Thursday’s meeting will also discuss other major concerns including blacklisting,” CARICOM explained.
Earlier this month, CARICOM issued a statement condemning the “ongoing unilateral, arbitrary and non-transparent blacklisting strategy employed by the European Union (EU) against the CARICOM Member States”.
Just recently, Barbados and Anguilla were placed on the list of blacklisted territories, while Trinidad and Tobago remains on the list.
Following the release of the new list earlier this month, the region bloc condemned the move, saying: “The most recent inclusion of CARICOM States to the blacklist of alleged non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and jurisdictions identified as being deficient in the area of Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), underscores the EU’s unwillingness to take into account the substantial progress made by CARICOM Member States at compliance with global standards.”
There has been significant pushback from regional member states against the arbitrary blacklisting, including having discussions with high-ranking EU officials, but to no avail.
The CARICOM statement noted that along with the unprecedented task of staging a post-COVID-19 economic recovery, the CARICOM States now have the added burden of being subjected to the EU’s discriminatory tactics disguised as tax policy and governance.
Regional leaders will also address issues related to the regional private sector as well as regional security.
