Chairman of the Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has urged the European Parliament to take away Jamaica and Barbados from its record of high-risk jurisdictions for cash laundering and terrorist financing.
Dr. Holness made the decision throughout a press convention on the shut of the forty ninth Common Assembly of the Convention of Heads of Authorities of CARICOM, on the Montego Bay Conference Centre, on Tuesday (July 8).
“Whereas the European Union (EU) has really helpful to the European Parliament, by way of its delegated regulation of June 2025, that Jamaica and Barbados be delisted, this has not totally materialised as completely different teams within the Parliament, for causes unrelated to the home state of affairs in Barbados and Jamaica, have issued Motions that may block optimistic motion on this regard,” the Prime Minister defined.
He urged EU officers to rethink their posture, declaring that being on the EU Enhanced Delegated Checklist impacts every day life for Jamaican and Caribbean residents, together with complicating on a regular basis banking transactions.
“For the typical particular person, the overbearing rules are a fantastic frustration, and so they may simply conclude it’s simply the inefficiency of presidency why we have now to fill out so many paperwork and supply so many types of identification and reply so many inquiries to switch $100… not understanding that there’s a international structure for anti-money laundering and different necessities imposed on States by varied international entities,” Dr. Holness defined.
He pressured that the issue is a regional one; due to this fact, governments should come collectively to interface with these international our bodies and foyer on behalf of residents, so the regulation necessities may be extra environment friendly and easier for the typical particular person to interface with the monetary system.
Dr. Holness reiterated that CARICOM is issuing a “strident attraction to the European Union to train Higher discretion [so] that international locations which have complied… by way of nice sacrifice, discomfort and value to the individuals of a growing nation… that better consideration be given to our circumstances, and that we aren’t lumped in with everybody else… or having to attend for an prolonged time period earlier than aid may be given to us”.
His attraction follows an analogous name made by outgoing CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Mottley, on the opening ceremony of the forty ninth Common Assembly on Sunday (July 6).
Miss Mottley mentioned that due to a technical mechanism by which the EU removes international locations, Barbados and Jamaica proceed to endure by the hands of the itemizing course of once they have been deemed to be totally compliant with all of the obligations required by the Monetary Motion Process Drive.
She identified that Jamaica and Barbados stay on the record alongside nations resembling Gibraltar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Miss Mottley mentioned it’s incorrect and urged the EU to rectify the problem, noting that “if the shoe had been on the opposite foot, we’d be advised easy methods to discover methods of getting our Parliament change the style through which we handle this situation, moderately than grouping all the international locations in a single basket to be the victims of opposition on any nation, despite the progress made”.
