PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The European Union Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Cavendish, says Caribbean countries are eligible to benefit from the Europe Latin America Programme of Assistance against Transnational Organised Crime (EL PAcCTO) technical assistance program.
Peter Cavendish,In a message marking the 73rd anniversary of Europe Day, Cavendish said that against the background of the recent CARICOM regional symposium on violence that was held here, the entire Caribbean is eligible for the EL PAcCTO program.
“It is an international cooperation program funded by the European Union that seeks to contribute to security and justice by supporting the fight against transnational organized crime. “In its intervention, EL PAcCTO addresses the entire criminal chain from an integral perspective through work in three components: police, justice and penitentiary,” he said.
The diplomat said the EU is one of the world leaders and aware of its responsibility at the global level to expand that circle of peace and prosperity.
“That the EU is collectively the biggest donor for international aid in the world; the first trading partner; and the first foreign investor for many countries in the world, testify to the scope of our global engagement.”
He said the EU is also investing in the development of the Caribbean region and that nearly five decades of close partnership with the Caribbean rests on a solid foundation of shared values, like-mindedness and cooperation.
He said the European Union gave around EUR150 million (One Euro=US$1.29 cents) in grants to the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat and its agencies during the period 2014-2020 to further develop the region, taking the opportunity also to congratulate CARICOM on its upcoming 50th anniversary in July.
He said last October, leaders representing 16 Caribbean countries met with the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, in Barbados and agreed on the main priorities for cooperation until 2027.
Cavendish said the end result was the establishment of three Caribbean-EU Partnerships, which move away from a purely donor-recipient model to a partnership among equals, namely the Partnership for a Caribbean Green Deal; the Partnership for Economic Resilience and Trade; and the Partnership for Governance, Security and Human Development.
He said these three partnerships form part of the EU’s EUR300 billion infrastructure investment strategy, Global Gateway, saying it is “our offer to partner countries for sustainable and trusted connections to help address the most pressing global challenges”
The EU diplomat said that as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have made these challenges even more acute, “we want to help our partners to address them and tackle inequalities.
“I am pleased to reaffirm our strong partnership with the Caribbean with a solid contribution of over EUR 800 million until 2027,” he said, noting that digital is one of the new pillars of support with partner countries.
Cavendish said that the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Digital Alliance, launched in March 2023, constitutes a comprehensive political and cooperation framework for digital engagement with the region.
He said specific projects in the field of digital in Trinidad and Tobago include a Counter Terrorism Technology Program and also a project to ‘Accelerate Digital Financial Inclusion’.
“We have been very encouraged by the strong progress of the government of Trinidad and Tobago in advancing its digital finance goals. In particular, the government has employed a unique approach to drive its agenda, with several achievements to date since establishing the agenda in late 2020.”
He said Trinidad and Tobago citizens have the benefit of travelling to Europe’s Schengen Zone without a visa, of participating in the Erasmus+ educational funding program to build tertiary level educational capacity, including in the digital domain, and international partnership (development) funding.
The diplomat said that he also wanted to thank Trinidad and Tobago authorities “for their principled stance, from the first day, on the war that Russia launched against Ukraine. “Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated its like-mindedness with an overwhelming majority of countries condemning Russia’s aggression, standing up for international law and a rules-based international order at the UN,” he added.
