BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ALTHOUGH it was initially slated for later this year, OECS Heads of Government (HoG) have set June 18, 2010 as the date for the inauguration of the OECS Economic Union.

The new date marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre which brought the regional organisation into existence. The decision is one of the recommendations coming out of the 49th OECS HoG meeting in the BVI, where leaders met last week to frame a united response to the recession facing the region as a result of the global financial crisis.

At that meeting, it was agreed by leaders that the Union would be formed by November this year, with Trinidad and Tobago joining in 2013. The move came after a call by Vincentian Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves to revisit the current timetable to formulate a more “realistic” schedule.

Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation, Gonsalves said the global economic crisis had negatively impacted regional integration initiatives and, due to this, the previous year-end deadline was in jeopardy.

“It is going to be very difficult to see that we can get the OECS economic union by the end of 2009, because in terms of some of the formal arrangements the very crisis itself had the effect of slowing some of that work...We are a little slower than we should have been in putting some of the institutions in place for an economic union,” he noted.

Meanwhile, a communiqué issued by the OECS revealed an update on the unity initiative with Trinidad and Tobago was presented to the body of regional leaders. At a special meeting held last year between OECS leaders and Trinidad’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning, the deadline for his country’s inclusion into the Economic Union was set at 2013.

The release also informed that, during the meeting, St. Kitts and Nevis announced it would join fellow OECS Member States in launching its Economic Union public education campaign on June 23. Campaigns have already been launched in Montserrat, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Grenada.

“The public awareness campaign is giving OECS nationals an opportunity to comment on and make inputs into a draft OECS Economic Union Treaty. The amended draft Treaty will then go before national parliaments in member states for ratification,” it clarified.