There is a paradox at the heart of European policy towards the Caribbean. For the sake of neatness and administrative ease, ministers and officials want to regard the Caribbean as a single entity. Despite this they know that to make any progress they have to deal individually with a disparate group of nations, each jealously protecting their individuality and sovereignty, divided by language, history and thousands of miles of ocean.
In an attempt to address the difficulty of having to deal with so many small nations, Europe has sought variously to embrace the concept of Cariforum (Caricom including Haiti plus the Dominican Republic); is working to complete a document that will govern its relationship with the British, Dutch and French overseas territories; would like to begin work on preparing for some form of mandate to negotiate an association agreement with Cuba; and is trying to reconcile complex issues relating to the overseas departments of France in the Caribbean. In fact the only part of the region Europe looks past are the US territories.
This process, which attempts to develop a coherent approach to the region as a whole, has gathered pace as Europe’s multilateral and bilateral financial resources have diminished, strategic priorities have moved to other parts of the world and the number of EU nations with little or no interest in the region has increased. As a consequence, Europe is now in the throes of considering how it should reorient its development policy so the
