On July 10, high-level government leaders from six Eastern Caribbean nations gathered in Dominica for a critical closed-door meeting focused on addressing growing scrutiny from the European Union over their regional Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs. Chaired by Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica, the summit brought together heads of government from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines to coordinate a unified strategy amid looming changes to the EU’s visa suspension framework.
Following hours of deliberation, the participating leaders issued a joint public statement reaffirming their unwavering commitment to upholding the strictest global standards for CBI operations, centered on security, full transparency, uncompromised integrity, and robust good governance. The leaders highlighted that the region has already implemented sweeping structural reforms to strengthen program oversight in recent years. These updates include more rigorous due diligence protocols for all applicants, expanded cross-border information sharing agreements, new mandatory transparency requirements, and the formal establishment of the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority, a centralized body tasked with ongoing monitoring and enforcement.
In the statement, regional leaders emphasized that CBI programs have grown into an irreplaceable source of development financing for their small island economies. Unlike costly international borrowing, revenue generated by these programs directly funds a wide range of critical national priorities, from climate adaptation and resilience infrastructure that protects coastal communities from extreme weather to post-hurricane disaster recovery, affordable housing initiatives, expanded public healthcare services, education system upgrades, and core transportation infrastructure projects.
To move the conversation forward constructively, the leaders agreed to ramp up targeted diplomatic engagement with EU institutions. They have scheduled a high-level diplomatic mission to Brussels to meet directly with senior EU officials, where discussions will center on negotiating a balanced, mutually acceptable resolution. The delegation will push for outcomes that address the EU’s security and regulatory concerns while fully acknowledging the unique economic vulnerabilities and urgent development needs of small island developing states.
Closing the summit, the group of leaders expressed measured confidence that continued constructive dialogue and collaborative problem-solving will deliver practical, long-term solutions that safeguard both the region’s ongoing development progress and the decades-long strategic partnership between Eastern Caribbean states and the European Union.