Continues

Many economists, international officials and even local politicians concede that part of the solution lies in closer union and that this will inevitably involve some loss of sovereignty, a touchy subject in states that were not so long ago under the colonial yoke.

“This is going to be the dominant conversation that the international community is going to place on the region in the next five to 10 years, largely because of what appear to be fiscally unsustainable scenarios,” says Mia Mottley, leader of the opposition Labour party in Barbados. “The Caribbean will have to make some choices.”

There have been some moves towards closer integration over the years since the West Indies Federation debacle. A handful of the former federation members – Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and coastal Guyana – formed the Caribbean Community, or Caricom, in 1973 to deepen the Caribbean Free Trade Association that grew from the ashes of the federation.

Caricom has since grown to include most of the anglophone islands: Belize, Dutch-speaking Suriname and francophone Haiti. In 2001 the members announced plans to work towards a single market and economy for the bloc. Local politicians meet regularly to pay homage to regional co-operation.

Source the Financial Times