NASSAU, Bahamas — Charging that the blacklisting of The Bahamas by the European Union (EU) is both “indefensible” and “immoral”, Prime Minister Philip E. Davis yesterday called on the EU to “take your economic feet off our necks” and immediately remove The Bahamas from its blacklist, The Nassau Guardian reported on Thursday, July 20, in an article written by Krystel Brown.
Davis made the call during a hard-hitting address at the plenary session of the third European Union-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) summit in Brussels, Belgium, where he also challenged the EU to deliver on its promises. Noting The Bahamas’ vulnerability in the face of climate change, Davis said there is much the EU can do to help.
“Can a country as small as ours grow strong enough to face such threats?”, Davis asked. “I say yes, and to our friends in the European Union, I say there are three things that can be done immediately, done today, done this week, done this month.”
“Firstly, remove us from your blacklist,” he continued. “Take your economic feet off our necks. The EU has placed us on a blacklist, using criteria which are unfairly applied to us, and not to European jurisdictions or those in developed countries. What is done in Delaware, North Dakota, and in territories of the European Union is little different to what is done by us. In fact, we have achieved higher compliance standards than all but one EU country. And yet for us, the goalposts have been frequently moved, and the penalties stiffened. This means that, when it comes to insurance, for example, any remittances from European reinsurers as a result of claims, are automatically reduced by 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of the monies owed is punitively retained by the EU. And we are the poorer for it and less able to rebuild for it.
“Missions, diplomats and nationals employed in our missions are having their bank accounts closed, or are unable to open bank accounts. What is the message? Are we to close our missions? And if so, how do we strengthen relationships and promote multilateralism between our countries? The blacklisting is indefensible, and it is immoral, remove us from it now.”
Back in March, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the problem that led to The Bahamas being added to the list – a deficient economic substance reporting system – was currently being rectified.
The prime minister also called on the EU to support The Bahamas’ efforts to insure itself, noting that the region is close to becoming uninsurable. See complete article in The Nassau Guardian https://thenassauguardian.com/pm-eu-blacklisting-indefensible-immoral/
