The European Union (EU) has not included in the Lisbon Treaty a crucial article that was a feature of treaties between the EU and African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. The Lisbon Treaty is the new “constitution” of the EU and it will replace the previous treaties that guided the policies of the EU and the work of the European Commission (EC).

Sir Ronald Sanders is a business executive and former Caribbean diplomat who publishes widely on small states in the global community. Reponses to: www.sirronaldsanders.com

Representatives of EC have offered reasons for this omission which might have had a ring of credibility had the Caribbean not been put through the threats and demands that characterized the negotiations leading to individual Caribbean countries signing up to an unequal Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU.

It is difficult for skeptics to take the EC at its word. Indeed, since the EC unilaterally denounced the Sugar Protocol leaving Caribbean sugar producers without a market that the Protocol had guaranteed, and since the EC further unilaterally amended the preferential terms under which Caribbean-produced bananas entered the EU market leaving banana farmers in dire circumstances, there is every reason to be ultra-cautious of actions by the EU and its Commission.

What is not clear is why the ACP countries have not protested at the omission of the article which they were entitled to do, and which they were urged to do by at least one activist lawyer in Brussels where both the EC and ACP secretariats are located.

It has to be assumed that the ACP representatives had good reason for not howling publicly in protest and that, at some point, they will let their publics know why they did not. On the other hand, it may very well be that they did protest but were rebuffed by the EC, and, again, they chose not to let their publics know that, once again, raw power trumped moral obligation. Then, it could be that the ACP representatives chose to do nothing at all on the basis that since the EC has unilaterally denounced what the ACP thought were other legally binding agreements, there was no point in even raising the issue, since the EU, at some point in the future, might abrogate an article in their own treaty if it did not suit them. And, the ACP would be able to do nothing about it just as they did not make a legal challenge to the denunciation of the Sugar Protocol.

To be fair to the EU and the EC, my previous paragraph is pure speculation. It may very well be that no representation was made by the ACP to the EU/EC by representatives of the ACP and therefore, the EU/EC had no reason for regarding any omission of the ACP relationship as an issue.

As background to all this, it should be pointed out that an activist lawyer in Brussells, Joyce van Genderen-Naar, wrote in March 2004 pointing out that the Article which “makes reference to the ACP countries in the previous EC/EU Treaties had been omitted from the text of the proposed Lisbon Treaty that replaces them”.

She said, paragraph 3 of Article 179 of the provisions for Development Cooperation in the current EC Treaty states that: “The provisions of this Article shall not affect cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in the framework of the ACP-EC Convention”.

Van Genderen-Naar went on to argue that “Article179, paragraph 3, refers to the special relationship between the EC/EU and the ACP-countries, which is the oldest and largest form of cooperation between Europe and countries from the South”. She contended that historical bonds “between Europe and the ACP-countries give Europe a special responsibility for these countries, which should not be forgotten and should be a part of the next Constitution for Europe. This responsibility is even more urgent, because after 37 years of cooperation 40 of the 79 ACP-countries still belong to the poorest countries in the world. Out of the 48 poorest countries in the world 40 are ACP-countries”. (The full text of her presentation can be read at: http://www.normangirvan.info/naar-acp-disappearance-from-lisbon/).

Very few in the ACP countries would seriously argue with van Genderen-Naar’s contention.

She advised the ACP “to make an official request to the European Commission and Members of the Convention (representatives of the European Parliament and Member States) to insert a provision concerning the ACP-EC-Cooperation in the new Constitution in view of the special relationship between the EU and the ACP, historical bonds, responsibilities and mutual interest, as agreed by EC and ACP in Article 55 of the Cotonou Agreement” which says: “The objectives of development finance cooperation shall be, through the provision of adequate financial resources and appropriate technical assistance, to support and promote the efforts of the ACP States to achieve the objectives set out in this Agreement on the basis of mutual interest and in a spirit of interdependence”.

The EU is redefining itself. They are describing the Lisbon Treaty as more than a Charter; they say it is the EU Constitution. Further, they have appointed a President of the EU and a common Foreign Minister. Beyond this deepening of their relationship, it is clear that the majority of the 27 nations in the EU feel no responsibility for the former colonies of a handful; many of them believe that the EU’s obligations are to the development and prosperity of its own member states.

If there is no reference in the Lisbon Treaty to the ACP countries, the shift in Europe’s attitude to them – evident in the unilateral denunciation of contracts and in the tactics of threat used in the EPA negotiations – will be confirmed. So, too, will be the timidity of the ACP in exercising power that can come from joint action.

The ACP must find the strength to speak with one voice again; to resist divide and rule tactics; to eschew empty promises of aid; and to fund its own institutions particularly those which interact with the EU. If the ACP countries remain mere supplicants without demonstrating a readiness to stand up together for themselves, then they will be omitted to their detriment from more than the EU’s new arrangements. (Caribnet)

Its most recent initiative is an offensive aimed at reducing the supply of illicit drugs through behaviour-change communication campaigns at the national level.

In this regard, the Secretariat, with support from the 9th EDF programme of the European Commission, is training key stakeholders within Member States to develop and use effective public education and behaviour change communication strategies to target female drug traffickers.

The rationale is to target women who are used as drug couriers (mules), empower them through education and present opportunities through an enabling environment as an alternative to illicit trafficking.

The first of a series of such capacity building workshop takes place in Saint Lucia, on 26-27 November, where regional stakeholders, such as directors of national drug councils, law enforcement representatives, civic and non-governmental organisations, and youth representatives will meet to develop effective public education campaigns ultimately aimed at reducing drug trafficking.

It is anticipated that at the end of the two days, participants would have gained skills to be able to develop their own campaigns and to relay the training to other stakeholders in an effort to assist key institutions in managing drug demand reduction and contribute to supply reduction at the national level.

The Workshop will also produce as one of its tangible outcomes, a Draft handbook on Developing Effective Public Education Campaigns Targeting Illicit Traffickers. This handbook will be further refined by a consultant and used as a guide for CARICOM Member States.

Among the topics to be treated by regional communication experts are: an introduction to Behaviour Change Communication (BCC); developing effective BCC Programmes and maximising message exposure.

One of the primary campaign tools that Member States will be trained to use as the centrepiece of their public education campaigns is an animated illustrative video titled Eva Goes to Foreign, which, through a dramatic storyline, depicts the social, physical and judicial consequences of illicit trafficking by females.

At the workshop in Saint Lucia, this video will be screened and used to illustrate some of the major elements of an effective public education campaign. Participants will also be trained in how to adapt and localise the Eva Goes to Foreign video to maximise its use in national public education campaigns.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — The Barbados government is pleased with the country’s progress in becoming compliant with the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) regulations, and is readying its economy and legislative and regulatory structures to be Single Economy compliant.

Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson

Prime Minister David Thompson made this observation on Tuesday, as he delivered remarks at the Commonwealth Business Forum on the “Commonwealth and the Americas” in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Noting that Barbados had recently completed an internal appraisal on the status of its compliance under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Thompson said its involvement in the CSME was linked to its path of sustainable economic development.

He also commended the region for making “tremendous strides towards economic integration”, adding that it was also on track for the Single Market phase of the CSME.

“From our perspective, the CSME represents an opportunity for CARICOM to harmonise our laws and administrative procedures that will create a single economic space.

“On completion of the Single Market phase, some 450 restrictions would have been removed, thereby making it easier for capital flows and the provision of services and skilled labour within our region,” the Prime Minister stated.

He pointed out that the recently held Convocation on the CSME had provided regional stakeholders with the opportunity to examine the progress that individual Member States had made in implementing the CSM and to gauge their readiness for implementing the Single Economy.

“Our findings are that notwithstanding some challenges with regard to differing capacities and governance structures, we are on track for full implementation of the Single Market.

“Despite the gloom and doom propagated about the fate of the CARICOM integration movement, there is more to be celebrated than there is about which to complain,” Thompson stated.

He also revealed that the regional private sector, through its umbrella body, the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, had expressed support for the CSME and highlighted a number of areas where the pace of implementation should be advanced.

These included the urgent implementation of the movement of capital; and the establishment of a Regional Stock Exchange and accompanying regulatory framework that would allow businesses to raise capital and function as one economic space.

The regional private sector also recommended finalisation of the CARICOM Financial Services Agreement, which would allow the regional financial services sector to source capital at the lowest rate possible; and the creation of a Regional Credit Bureau, which would allow for the sharing and exchange of credit information on clients seeking to raise capital anywhere in the region.

NEW YORK, USA  (Bloomberg) — Jamaica, which had its credit rating downgraded by the three biggest rating companies this month, will get a loan from the International Monetary Fund and continue paying its debt, according to Scotia Capital.

“Investors are concerned about a possible default or restructuring of the debt,” New York-based Scotia analyst Joe Kogan wrote in a report after meeting with government officials in Kingston. “No such restructuring is under consideration.”

Fitch Ratings Wednesday cut Jamaica’s rating to CCC from B and kept the outlook negative, citing a delay on a standby loan from the IMF and the “possibility of some form of debt restructuring,” according to a report by analyst Shelly Shetty. The downgrade follows similar moves by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service earlier this month.

IMF spokesman Andreas Adriano said there was no “timeframe” on when the Washington-based bank may reach a loan agreement with Jamaica.

The extra yield investors demand to own Jamaica bonds over US Treasuries widened to 8.41 percentage points Wednesday from 6.18 percentage points Sept. 24, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Calls to Jamaica’s Financial Secretary Wesley Hughes weren’t immediately returned.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (Reuters) — Commonwealth leaders will put the world’s small island states at the frontline of the climate debate when they meet on Friday to press for an effective international pact against global warming.

Around half of the 53-nation Commonwealth group, mainly former British colonies, are island nations scattered across the world’s oceans. Some of these fear they could be swamped or even literally wiped off the map in coming decades if sea levels rise as a result of worsening climate change.

Environment activists wear masks featuring France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (C), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R) and European Union President Jose Manuel Baroso (L) during a protest in front of a European Union office. Scores of environmental activists held the rally to criticize policies of G8 nations and EU agreements on climate change, ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December. AFP PHOTO

Commonwealth leaders are holding a three-day summit in Trinidad and Tobago from Friday and host Prime Minister Patrick Manning said the meeting aimed to send a firm message in favor of cooperation to limit global warming ahead of UN climate change talks due in Copenhagen on December 7-18.

“We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month … what we can do is raise our voices politically,” Manning told a news conference on Thursday in Port of Spain.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma told Reuters the group would seek to give “voice and help” to tiny island nations like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Tuvalu and Kiribati in the Pacific, whose very existence would be threatened by increases in ocean levels.

Trinidad’s Manning said small Caribbean states were also vulnerable to hurricanes, whose frequency could increase as global warming distorts and reshapes weather patterns.

The cases of these so-called “climate change frontline states” are seen adding urgency to calls for clear political commitments by industrialized powers to cut greenhouse gas emissions and so limit the rate of global warming that could dangerously increase sea levels in the future.

Manning said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish President Lars Lokke Rasmussen would join a special discussion session on climate change to be held by the Commonwealth leaders on Friday.

He said the Commonwealth’s wide membership, bringing together wealthy industrialized nations like Britain, Canada and Australia with some of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable states, made the group especially “reflective of world opinion” in the climate change debate.

Sharma said it would be up to the Commonwealth leaders to decide just how specific their call for action to fight global warming would be, but he added: “If I get very clear direction, the happier I’ll be”.

Although most nations have given up hopes of agreeing to a final binding legal climate treaty text in Copenhagen, prospects for a broad political agreement have been brightened this week by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States, the world’s biggest single emitters.

Both US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have said they will attend the Copenhagen talks in what was seen as gestures of personal commitment to a climate pact.

But supporters of a strong and binding international agreement to fight global warming say more needs to be done.

“We need to press this week for presence and commitment in Copenhagen,” said John Foster, a researcher with the North-South Institute, a Canadian non-profit organization that supports international development.

He said the Commonwealth, with its wide global reach, could act as a “bridging institution between resisters and supporters” of a climate deal.

The sought-after treaty to fight global warming, now expected to be adopted as a final text only next year, will replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.

Commonwealth leaders in Port of Spain were also expected to discuss approving the admission of French-speaking Rwanda, whose President Paul Kagame has worked to bring his country into the English-speaking sphere in Africa after disagreements with France over events leading to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Some human rights groups have opposed Rwanda’s admission on the grounds the country does not measure up to international standards for freedom and justice.

The Port of Spain meeting could also raise the possibility in the future of eventually readmitting Zimbabwe, which left the Commonwealth in 2003 after it was censured over a poll that re-elected President Robert Mugabe. Commonwealth observers had condemned his re-election as flawed.

Camille Bethel cbethel@trinidadexpress.com

The Ministry of Education has requested that school principals submit to it a list with the names of teachers who stayed away from school on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

Those were the days when the People’s Democracy organisation called for a nationwide shutdown.

The ministry’s position is meant to ensure that teachers do not apply for those days as sick leave entitlement days.

The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) has estimated that 8,000 of the country’s 14,000 teachers would have stayed away from school on both days.

The ministry’s circular was sent to government schools and government-assisted schools yesterday.

It asked that the teachers on the list not apply for those days as sick leave days but as occasional leave because the plan for a national shutdown took place on those days.

Peter Wilson, secretary general of TTUTA, said yesterday the ministry does not have the authority to make such a request since employers cannot dictate what type of leave an employee takes.

’We see the circular as illegal and not in line with regulations. The ministry is attempting to intimidate, persecute and deny teachers legitimate leave that they are entitled to,’ he said.

Wilson said the teachers were told if they take those two days as sick leave they would need to take more than the two days.

’How can they say if someone was sick or not on those days? What are they saying to someone who was sick on those two days that they can’t take their leave? Teachers have sick leave with up to two days without a medical certificate,’ he said. (Trinidad Express)

Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday has questioned statements by Prime Minister Patrick Manning that the country stands to gain ’future benefits’ from hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Calling this weekend’s forum ’T&T’s most expensive talk shop’, Panday said yesterday the nation was still waiting to see profits from the hosting of the Fifth Summit of the Americas seven months ago.

’T&T is ranked 79 out of 180 countries on the Transparency Institute’s 2009 Corruption Perception Index, I am beginning to think that CHOGM 2009 may very well be an expensive talk shop,’ Panday said in a statement.

He said the local and international media has a duty to ask the organisers of CHOGM 2009, why, in such a rich country, pregnant women and the elderly had to sleep on chairs and benches at the nation’s hospitals.

’Why does more than 70 per cent of our nation still not have a continuous supply of potable water? Why are our roads in such disrepair?  Why in this small country, quarter of the population is in absolute poverty, unsure as to where their next meal is coming from?’ Panday asked.

’Citizens continue to be denied basic amenities while the government ’ramajays’ on the international stage of CHOGM, paid for by the taxpayers. Talking here about development, climate change and the youth, in the context of social issues facing us, is a charade.’ Trinidad Express

Phoolo Danny-Maharaj South Bureau

ELECTIVE surgeries at three major hospitals have been postponed to make bed space available for any medical emergency during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Medical sources said a directive came from the Ministry of Health last week to make available bed space for three days in case of any disaster during the CHOGM.

The only way the bed space could be made available was ’to cancel surgeries on Wednesday, yesterday and (today)’ the source said.

The Express was told that a similar directive was also given to the Port of Spain General Hospital and the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mt Hope.

The hospital source said that six theatres operate daily with an average of four patients each a day. Surgery postponement would therefore allow 24 bed spaces for any emergency.

The patients whose surgeries were postponed would have an early opportunity to be rescheduled by next week.

Emergency surgeries were however, carried on as usual, the Express was told.

’We cannot stop the emergency surgeries, especially where people’s lives are concerned,’ said the source.

Director of Corporate Communications at the Ministry of Health Dr Theomary Karamanis said via text message yesterday that surgeries were not cancelled, just rescheduled for the days of CHOGM meetings.

All of these surgeries were elective not emergencies and these services continue, she added Meanwhile, doctors at the SFGH are upset that they were also warned that they should not enter on any patients’ medical record the illness H1N1 Influenza A virus ’unless absolutely sure’.

’We are treating everyone with the H1N1 symptoms, but we are not writing it on the form until we receive the reports. In that way, people will not panic,’’ said a hospital official.

One doctor pointed out: ’The truth is that the tests for the H1N1 are all sent up to Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and we do not receive the reports, before we treat the patients, yet we have to treat them.’

Doctors believe the testing for the illness should be done at the hospital. (Trinidad Express)

Anna Ramdass aramdass@trinidadexpress.com

in memory of war dead: Queen Elizabeth II, second from right, touches a wreath before it is laid at the foot of the cenotaph at Memorial Park, Port of Spain, yesterday. Looking on at right is President George Maxwell Richards. -Photo: ANISTO ALVES

Queen Elizabeth II has offered assistance to Trinidad and Tobago in the area of national security.

Speaking at the State dinner at President’s House, St Ann’s, last night, she praised the country for its great strides in leadership on regional security.

It was the first time she had spoken publicly since arriving in Trinidad yesterday.

She said many Caribbean jobs depended on trade between Trinidad and the United Kingdom.

’My government remains ready to assist in the security sector,’ she added.

She said Tobago held many memories for her and Prince Philip, she said.

Most children grow up reading about kings and queens in fairy tales but earlier yesterday, schoolchildren were able to see royalty in the flesh when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, landed in Trinidad and Tobago.

There was an air of excitement at the old Piarco airport terminal where children from various schools such as Arima Government Secondary, St Helena Presbyterian and St Helena Hindu waited with both T&T and English flags in hand to greet the Queen, who will officially open the Commonwealth heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this morning.

The red carpet was laid out, the national guard stood stiffly at attention, and the top officials of Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s Cabinet lined the red carpet at the airport awaiting the arrival of the Queen.

At exactly 2.44 p.m., all eyes were glued to the massive British Airways Concorde supersonic transport plane which touched down at the tarmac at the old Piarco airport.

A huge contingent of the Queen’s entourage as well as members of the British media was the first to disembark the rear exit of the aircraft.

Moments later, British High Commissioner Eric Jenkinson entered the aircraft to greet the Queen.

At exactly 3 p.m., the woman of the hour emerged and walked down the stairway followed by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

They were greeted by President George Maxwell Richards who introduced them to his wife, Dr Jean Ramjohn Richards, Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his wife, Hazel, as well as the wife of Jenkinson.

Children looked on in awe a few feet away, not knowing whether to scream out in glee or stay silent.

The Queen, dressed in a lovely, green ensemble, smiled as she briskly walked to a podium where she listened to the Defence Force play both Britain’s and this country’s national anthems.

There was a 21-gun salute and the Queen then proceeded to inspect the national guard.

She energetically walked towards the lineup of Cabinet ministers and senators and shook their hands as they were introduced by Manning.

The Silver Stars steelband provided music.

Fifteen minutes later, the Queen and Duke were driven away.

Although the Queen did not personally greet the children, they still considered themselves lucky to see her.

The Express spoke to a few of them from the Arima Government Primary School.

Shamir Pasea, ten, said, ’I’m very excited. It was amazing to see the Queen in real life for the first time ever. I will always remember this day.’

Tamia Silkes, ten, said she was anxiously awaiting the day. ’I’m very happy and excited to be here. I will never forget this,’ she said.

Mia Hull, nine, was bowled over by the Queen’s presence.

’I’m excited! I really loved how the Queen looked. She looked so pretty,’ she said.

’It was really great to see her in person. Our teachers told us a lot about the Queen yesterday,’ said Shania Francois, nine.

’I always wanted to meet the Queen, and I was very happy to just see her in real,’ said Kirsten Bleadell, nine.

Even the teachers were struck by royalty.

’It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One to never forget. We are happy to be invited,’ said Ann Nicholson, a teacher from the Arima Government Primary School.

(Trinidad Express)