The push to establish the CSME and the CCJ were reportedly born in 1989, at Grand Anse, Grenada. Fifteen years later, at the 25th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, held Sunday, July 4, to Wednesday, July 7, 2004, in St. George?s, Grenada, the ?key issues considered included the removal of restrictions on the right of establishment, the provision of services and the movement of capital; the work program of the CSME and its financing.?

   The leaders, including Belize Prime Minister, Hon. Said Musa, who is the head for sustainable development issues in CARICOM?s quasi-cabinet, also discussed the plan to establish a CARICOM passport?one of the CARICOM initiatives being pushed, along with the establishment of the CCJ.

   The vision for the CSME is broad and wide, but ultimately aimed at the integration of the small CARICOM economies. This November, the countries will reconvene in ?special CSME session,? to further the agenda.

   At the July meeting, Heads of Government considered and accepted the report by the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, responsible for justice and governance, on issues relating to the CCJ?s inauguration and they unanimously agreed to appoint Trinidad and Tobago?s Justice, Michael de la Bastide, as the first president of the Court.

   ?Heads of Government also recognized the urgency of advancing the implementation of the CSME within the agreed timetable, in order to derive greater benefit from regional integration and to provide a firmer basis upon which the region?s negotiating positions in all arenas can be developed,? the leaders said a July 8 communiqu?.

   The region sees the CSME as a means of battling against the tide of globalization, which threatens to overtake local economies.

   Already, the region is faced with challenges for two of its major agricultural products?sugar and bananas.

   According to their communiqu?, the ?Heads of Government rejected outright the proposals for the reform of the EU Sugar Regime, reportedly being considered by the European Commission, which envisages a 37% reduction in the guaranteed price for sugar supplied under the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol.?

   This move, they claim, could cost the region US$90 million. Consequently, ?They called on the European Commission to withdraw the proposals, and to ensure that the interests of the ACP sugar-supplying countries are taken fully into account in the reform of the Sugar Regime,? the communiqu? added.

   Likewise, the heads expressed concern over the challenges facing the region?s banana trade. Pointing to ?increasing threat to the banana industry arising from the EU?s initiative to advance the tariff-only regime and the competition among supermarkets in the United Kingdom,? the heads reaffirmed the fundamental importance of the banana industry to the social and economic stability of the producing countries in the region?Belize included.

   This week, Belize?s Foreign Trade Minister, Hon. Eamon Courtenay headed a delegation that appeared before the World Trade Organization?s (WTO) Trade Policy Review Board in Geneva, Switzerland, ?to explain and defend Government?s position in response to these criticisms,? according to a Government of Belize press release, dated July 14, 2004.

   ?Members of the Belize delegation also had a bilateral meeting with representatives of the French government, to discuss the upcoming reform of the banana market in the EU,? the release added. ?It is expected that the EU will move to a tariff-only arrangement, and Belize is lobbying hard for a high tariff to enable it to compete with ?dollar? bananas.?

   Meanwhile, the region hopes to commence negotiations for an ?enhanced trade agreement? with Canada by the end of the year.

   ?Notwithstanding the hiatus in the FTAA [Free Trade of the Americas] process,? said the CARICOM communiqu?, ?the region is actively involved in efforts to move the WTO talks forward, and endorsed the initiative taken by the region?s ministerial spokesperson on WTO matters, to forge a consensus among the group of developing countries known as the G90.

   ?Heads of Government welcomed the launch, in April, of the Caribbean?s negotiations with the European Union for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).? The EPA would define a new trade regime between the EU and ACP countries.