The Long Shadow of Regionalism: Exploring the ‘EU-style’ Free Movement Deal between Four Caricom Nations
On October 1st of this year, 4 Caribbean nations – Belize, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines – announced the commencement of a deal that would allow the citizens of their respective nations the right to settle and work freely across state borders. The deal, which was agreed upon earlier this year, ensures that a digital record, or passport stamp will enable indefinite stays. It must be noted that citizens of states that are members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) were previously permitted only to stay on a short-term basis, and if they were considered “skilled labour.” The deal now enables families to reside in any of the four respective territories on an indefinite basis, and allows them to access healthcare and other services.
The seemingly sudden development actually comes after what the Guardian described as “decades of discussion and negotiations” between Caricom member-states. It must be noted that “the full free movement of people” was one of the “founding principles” of Caricom, despite its actual implementation having been quite recent, and currently conducted on a small scale.
Caricom is a regional intergovernmental organisation, or grouping, comprised of fifteen member states (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago) and six associate members (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curçao and the Turks and the Caicos Islands). It was founded in 1973 as the result of a 15-year effort at regional integration, which early last month appears to have grown further.
The successful integration of four member states into what may be best described as a regional arrangement that mirrors that of the EU, in a rudimentary manner, comes as somewhat unprecedented. Although the free movement deal has been implemented in the Caribbean on a relatively small scale, the EU’s may no longer be the world’s only example of widespread regional integration and free movement, owing to the beginnings of this regional project.
The choice for heads of state to allow the citizens of 4 Caricom nations to reside in the state of their choosing, comes as a result of somewhat worrying national developments. Long-term ‘brain drain’ from Caribbean nations to states including Canada, the UK and the USA can be considered a major economic driver for the deal, which leaders hope will enable Caribbean nations to retain skilled labour within their territories. Barbados has also openly recognised that their ageing population can create significant barriers for future attempts at sustained national economic growth. In late 2024, the Barbadian Prime Minister had outlined a multi-fold issue facing the nation: the state’s workforce was ageing, the national population is in decline, and taxation rates are falling, which spells out issues for the social services network in the state. Without significant intervention, Barbados’ social care infrastructures could have diminished over time, and negatively affect citizens’ ways of life. Clearly, it appears the free movement of labour into Barbados from the newly implemented deal could be a solution for the state’s economic woes, and in the long-term, may address domestic concerns that have plagued the state. However, even though the free movement deal may address concerns that states have about economic growth, worsening developments in the climate crisis pose a worrying challenge to attempts at regionalism and economic integration. The climate crisis has put horrifying pressure on the region by worsening extreme weather events. According to the UN the recent Hurricane Melissa has “impacted 6 million people in the Caribbean.” The hurricane has impacted numerous islands in the Caribbean in varied measures. This significant crisis could be a challenge that Caribbean states may come to rely on regionalism to address, presuming the climate crisis does not manage to significantly hinder attempts at regional integration between members of Caricom.
Caricom states are nevertheless evidently in the process of developing a coherent, tangible regional identity as a means of strengthening against growing hostility from the Trump administration in its bid to seemingly crack down on drug trafficking. The US has strengthened its military presence in the Caribbean, a move which has been widely criticised by governments in the region. With the US hegemon appearing to opt for an increasingly aggressive foreign policy in the region, it appears that moves in favour of Caribbean integration comes at a time when regional unity and stability may serve as a ‘bulwark’ that can protect regional and national sovereignty - bandwagoning against US foreign policy.
To consider how Caricom’s attempts at regional integration might fare in the long-term, it is worth examining the EU, since its pathway as the world’s most regionally integrated grouping of states may provide insight into how Caricom may develop in the future, and the pitfalls they may come to face.
The EU’s historical attempts to develop a regional ‘European identity’ as a replacement for, or means of superseding national identity have faltered with the rise of right-wing anti-immigration sentiment. A growing disconnect between the structures of the EU, which are increasingly viewed as ‘technocratic’ and unrepresentative of ‘Europe,’ may spell out concerns for the future of Caricom attempts at regional integration. Could Caricom face the same issues that currently cast a shadow over the EU? While this is a valid concern, it may be avoided through the Caricom’s current efforts to develop an enduring regional identity. The question of how this may be conducted remains. Though it might be too soon to predict, it appears Caricom already has the foundations of a regional identity that can be explored and strengthened further alongside their efforts at regional integration. According to David Comissiong, the Barbados Ambassador to Caricom, in reference to Caricom, he claims: “[we] are virtually the same people. [We] have no historical animosities against each other, and [we] are very similar culturally. So, this is a breakthrough”. This could suggest that at least in the eyes of a key proponent of the new deal, there are strongly shared elements of the four states’ cultural identity that can strongly support efforts at economic integration, at least as of the present.
Another question that arises is how far Caricom is willing to integrate its states. Just as the EU began as the EEC, and progressed beyond merely conducting economic integration between its member-states, it remains to be seen as to whether Caricom members wish to replicate the EU’s historical development, or perhaps, chart a newer path. Although much is left up to speculation, it remains clear that certain actors currently aim to widen the scope of the free movement deal. Despite Comissiong’s hope for the deal to have been implemented across all Caricom member-states, he noted that a key reason that integration remains somewhat elusive is because of what he terms “the old psychological barrier of being afraid of… neighbours.”
It therefore remains to be seen if Caricom members will successfully proceed with their project of regional integration beyond just four states. This is especially since certain states, particularly Jamaica, remain hesitant with regards to joining the agreement which came into effect last month. If state actors choose to widen their regional integration, it remains worth examining whether or not member-states will tire of their attempts to band together under the banner of regionalism. The economic concerns that have been facing Caricom members implies member states would do good to widen their regional integration to include increasing numbers of Caricom states. However, economic regional integration requires cultural integration as a supportive framework to ensure that regional organisations can endure the test of time.
Image Courtesy of the U.S. Department of State via Flickr. Public Domain
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
