CARIBBEAN-OECS leaders discuss CBI with European Union.

NEW YORK, CMC -Leaders of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), whose countries operate the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, have held talks with the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister of St. Lucia.

It said that Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre, along with his Antigua and Barbuda counterpart, Gaston Browne, met with Brunner on the sidelines of the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) here.

The OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, and the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, also attended.

“The discussion centered on the future of citizenship by investment programs following the European Commission’s request that Eastern Caribbean countries operating such programs phase them out by June 2028,” the statement said.

The brief statement said that the prime ministers “reiterated that citizenship by investment programs are an important source of development financing for the OECS countries that operate them.

“They also underscored the need for continued dialogue with the EU on a transition path forward that takes account of EU security concerns and the economic realities of the region,” the statement said.

In a later statement posted on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Pierre said, “We recognize the security concerns raised by our European partners, but any path forward must also recognize the economic realities of our small island states and the importance of these revenues to development.

St. Lucia will continue to engage constructively with the European Union and our regional partners to protect our national interests while maintaining the highest standards of transparency, security and accountability,” he added.

St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis operate a CBI program that provides citizenship to foreign investors in return for substantial investment in the socio-economic development of these islands.

Last week, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said OECS leaders hope to mount a “high-level mission” to Brussels later this month after the European Union announced it would move toward ending the visa-free program for the regional countries.

In July, the leaders said they would undertake the mission “at the earliest appropriate opportunity” to engage directly with the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Council, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“These engagements will seek to deepen mutual understanding of the unique vulnerabilities and development realities of small island developing states, to explore practical and mutually beneficial solutions to the issues identified by the European Union, and to strengthen the longstanding partnership between the European Union and the Eastern Caribbean.

“But the plan was to have a meeting towards the end of September, and we are hoping that both sides can stick to it and keep looking at it, but we haven’t pinned down the precise date yet,” Skerrit said.