CARICOM Chair Pierre says, CBI nations will 'continue to survive' despite EU visa threat

Saint Lucia: Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Chairman of CARICOM Philip J Pierre said that the Caribbean Community did not discuss CBI when he was asked about the ultimatum issued to Antigua and Barbuda by the European Union. He expressed hopefulness and said that “we will continue to survive.”

The topic was not discussed at the 51st CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting which was held from July 5 to 8 even after widespread discussions following the latest stance of the European Union about visa-free travel.

Reporters questioned Pierre about the European Commission's recent ultimatum to Antigua and Barbuda. The Commission has warned the country to stop its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme by June 2028 or risk losing visa-free access to the Schengen Area, “regardless of how well the programme is managed.”

Pierre explained that the matter was not discussed because it does not affect all CARICOM member states.

He noted that the five countries operating CBI programmes Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis are working together to address the EU's concerns and are working together to address the concerns regarding the programme.

Pierre added, “We've been trying our best to follow best practices. We’ve been trying our best to ensure all the requirements we are asked for; we have met them.” 

However, he acknowledged that there is little CBI countries can do if another nation decides to change its immigration policies.
“Regardless of what we do, if Europe does not want us to have a CBI programme, that’s what is going to happen. Each country has its own domestic policies,” he said.

PM Pierre said that even after facing similar challenges in the past, the region continues to move forward.

He compared this situation to when the Caribbean lost special treatment for its banana and sugar industries. He said the situation might change but the region’s resilience has always remained strong.

“We’ve been there before. We took all the steps as far as our bananas were concerned, and we still lost [preferential] treatment for our bananas… We’ve gone there before, and we’ve always survived. I’m sure we will continue to survive,” Pierre said.