|
Welcome to
the home page of the Delegation of the European Commission to Guyana,
Suriname, Trinidad &Tobago, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.
The
delegations of the European Commission, of which there are around 130 all
over the world, are there to represent and serve the EU’s interests. In
the beginning the role was focused on trade negotiations and the delivery
of technical assistance to the beneficiary countries. Over the years the
delegation’s roles have widened and they have come to represent the
European interests in many other areas of EU activities. So for example
the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP) has given an additional
dimension to the work of these offices.
The EC
delegations serve the Commission and the EU by:
-
Publicizing,
explaining and implementing EU policies
-
Analysing the
policies and politics of the countries concerned
-
Promoting EUs
interest in areas as trade, agriculture and fisheries
-
Playing a key
role in development assistance to the countires
The
Delegations also provide support and assistance to other European
institutions as the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
The Delegation in Guyana is the mother delegation. There is also a
Delegation in Trinidad and Tobago and a Delegation in Suriname.
These offices operate as antennas of the Commission delegation in
Georgetown, Guyana.
One of the Delegation's core tasks is to
promote knowledge and understanding between the European Union and the
Caribbean Region. As the popularity of the Internet grows, we hope this
website will strengthen this function. In turn, this home page will
hopefully provide us with an opportunity to reach out to the public, be
they members of the business, governmental and non-governmental sectors,
or academicians and students.
Who we are and what we do
The Regional Delegation of the European Commission (EC) in Georgetown has the task of officially representing the European Commission in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles and vis-à-vis the Secretariat of CARIFORUM. The EC Delegation in Guyana is a fully-fledged diplomatic mission. The Head of Delegation is accredited by the President of the European Commission to the Heads of State and has the rank and courtesy title of Ambassador.
Since its creation in 1975, the Delegation has essentially been a privileged interlocutor for keeping the Commission's headquarters aware of local developments and serving as natural focal point between the European Union and the Caribbean.
The Delegation works closely with EU Member States accredited and represented
in the countries concerned. Although it has the status of a diplomatic mission, it does not deal with tasks of a consular nature (i.e. issuing visas or providing tourist information, which are dealt with by the EU Member States' Embassies) and instead functions as an official channel for bilateral relations, be they political, development or humanitarian, economic or cultural.
The major task of the Delegation and its
staff is to be partners to the development co-operation. We ensure that
projects and programmes financed from the funds managed by the European
Commission are properly and cost effectively executed. To this end, we
work closely with the National Authoring Officers (appointed by the
respective Governments) and line ministries in managing wide-ranging
socio-economic, cultural and technical projects – and, if necessary, being
hands-on involved.
Organisation
|
 |
The Regional Delegation is organised
in four sections (Regional, Economic, Technical and Administration)
and two Offices: one in Suriname (Paramaribo) and one in Port of
Spain (Trinidad & Tobago). |
|
The new premises of the Regional Delegation
located in Georgetown have been inaugurated by H.E. President
Bharrat Jagdeo and Commissioner Poul Nielson who dedicated the
Europa Auditorium on 16 October 2001. |
 |
Network of EC Delegations in the
Caribbean
(Click
on Country/Island names for EU Delegation Website of each territory)
 There are five Delegations of the European Commission in the Caribbean, in
Ø Georgetown covering Guyana, Aruba & the Netherlands Antilles, Suriname (office in Paramaribo) and Trinidad & Tobago (office in Port of Spain)
Ø
Bridgetown covering the OECS Countries
Ø
Santo Domingo covering the Dominican Republic and Cuba
Ø Port
au Prince covering Haïti
Ø Kingston covering Jamaica, Belize, Bahamas, Turk and Caicos Islands
All these countries are signatories of the LOME Convention and COTONOU Partnership Agreement. They are regrouped in what is called CARIFORUM, a forum between the European Union and Caribbean ACP countries.
|
