The Joint Caribbean EU Strategy Reflections and Analysis: Workshop Report
In an effort to rethink the scope of the Caribbean-EU Partnership, on 17 May 2010, Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean and the European Union met in Madrid, Spain on the occasion of the IV CARIFORUM-EU Summit. Both regions endorsed the proposal for the formulation, adoption and implementation of a Joint Caribbean-EU Partnership Strategy (JCEUS) to take advantage of opportunities and to cooperate on key challenges and shared priorities in their respective regions, including the promotion of regional integration and cooperation for sustainable development, the development of effective responses to climate change and natural disasters, the reconstruction of Haiti, crime and security and joint action in bi-regional, multilateral and global fora.
As part of the process of promoting dialogue and consultation towards the elaboration and finalisation of the JCEUS, the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) and the Institute for International Relations (IIR) at the University of the West Indies hosted a seminar titled “The Joint CARIFORUM EU Strategy: Reflections and Analysis.” The joint workshop was convened in the context of a MOU signed by the ECDPM and IIR in October 2009, which has the objective of stimulating strategic reflection and analysis on the future of Caribbean-EU relations and on Caribbean regional integration.
The broad aim of the workshop was to obtain critical input from Caribbean academics, civil society and practitioners on the JCEUS. More specifically, the objectives were to: analyse the emerging global reconfigurations of power, changes in the EU and the Caribbean and their implications for Caribbean-EU relations and the JCEUS; analyse the priority areas identified in the JCEUS and explore other areas of common interest for the Caribbean-EU partnership; examine the potential value added of the JCEUS in relation to other existing frameworks of cooperation; consider relevant process related lessons from the Joint Africa-EU Strategy and propose a way forward for effective implementation of a Caribbean EU- Strategy.
The seminar brought together some twenty participants from a wide range of competence and experience, including academia, the private sector, civil society and practitioners in Caribbean EU relations (including former diplomats and negotiators).
Photo By Tatiana12 Flickr