CASTRIES, St Lucia — The OECS Commission welcomed a delegation from the European Union (EU), led by Ambassador to Barbados, Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, CARICOM and Cariforum Malgorzata Wasilewska, on Thursday, February 17th 2022. The delegation met with the director-general of the OECS Dr Didacus Jules, ambassador Colin Murdoch, members of the OECS Commission Leadership Team, as well as OECS heads of government and ministers who joined virtually.
The representatives from the member states had the opportunity to engage in critical discourse with the EU Delegation, with areas such as the region’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, climate change, Citizenship by Investment, human development and development financing featuring prominently.
The meeting was chaired by the director-general of the OECS Dr Didacus Jules who expressed his gratitude for the dialogue, and called for continued collaboration between the OECS and the European Union in areas of mutual interest.
According to Dr Jules, ‘’There are many pressing issues requiring on-going bi-lateral and regional dialogue and consultation between the European Commission and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. This meeting we hope will mark the commencement of an on-going process of real and frank engagement in order to arrive at mutually satisfactory solutions.’’
Ambassador Colin Murdoch, permanent observer of the OECS to the United Nations Office in Geneva, highlighted the importance of increased engagement with the smaller member states, for the specific purpose of increasing their benefits from the Economic Partnership Agreement and other EU funded programmes.
The EU Delegation outlined several areas of development support available to OECS Member States, particularly in sectors such as climate change and digitization. Ambassador Wasilewska committed to more bilateral discussions with member states to identify and address specific concerns.
