Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne met European Union Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner in New York on 24 September during the 81st UN General Assembly. The discussion focused on the European Commission’s demand that the Eastern Caribbean’s citizenship‑by‑investment (CBI) programmes be phased out by June 2028.
Participants and setting
- EU side: Commissioner Magnus Brunner, supported by additional EU officials.
- Caribbean side: Prime Ministers Pierre and Browne, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Governor Timothy Antoine, OECS Director‑General Didacus Jules, and other OECS representatives.
- Venue: EU Mission to the United Nations, New York.
Core issues raised
- The prime ministers reiterated that CBI programmes are a major source of development financing for the OECS states that operate them.
- They called for continued dialogue to devise a transition path that balances EU security concerns with the region’s economic realities.
- No agreement or amendment to the EU’s June 2028 deadline was announced.
EU’s formal position
- On 25 June 2026 the Commission sent a letter (signed by Brunner) requiring Antigua and Barbuda to cease its CBI programme by 1 June 2028. Similar letters were issued to Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.
- The letter provides a 24‑month transition period and mandates interim measures by September 2026, including:
- Full exclusion of individuals subject to EU restrictive measures.
- Strengthened vetting procedures for all applicants, regardless of nationality.
Legal basis
- The request is grounded in Regulation (EU) 2025/2441, which entered into force on 30 December 2025.
- The regulation adds “investor citizenship schemes” in visa‑exempt countries to the list of grounds for suspending visa‑free travel to the EU. It defines such schemes as granting citizenship in exchange for predetermined payments or investments without a genuine link to the country.
Regional response
- At a summit in Roseau on 10 July, the five Eastern Caribbean states with CBI programmes (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia) agreed to undertake a high‑level mission to Brussels.
- Saint Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire later claimed the country had already complied with Brussels’ demands and noted a “change in the mood of the Commission.”
- On 20 September, Antigua and Barbuda’s Foreign Minister Chet Greene, newly chair of the OECS council of foreign ministers, set “securing fair treatment for Citizenship by Investment and financial services programmes” as a council objective.
- The EU is expected to consider Antigua and Barbuda’s response in its visa‑suspension mechanism report slated for December 2026.
Implications
- If the transition measures are not fully implemented, the EU could suspend visa‑free travel for citizens of the affected Caribbean states under the new regulation.
- The CBI programmes, which have funded infrastructure and public‑service projects across the OECS, face an uncertain future unless a revised arrangement with the EU is reached.
The meeting underscored the tension between the EU’s security agenda and the Caribbean’s reliance on investment‑driven citizenship schemes, with a decisive deadline looming in mid‑2028.
Source article: www.imidaily.com
