Above: Montserrat. Photo: Caribbean Journal

Montserrat is a founding member of CARICOM, but had not yet acceded to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and participated in the CARICOM Single Market.

While Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory, Meade said the territory was “fully competent to do so fully competent to do so on entrustments received from our main sponsor the United Kingdom Government for our continued full participation in the regional integration movement.”

He pointed to a new direction issued by the European Union earlier this year that created an opportunity for French and Dutch departments in the region to join the regional integration movement.

“We in Montserrat are clearly ahead in this team effort and it’s strengthening by actions from our internal and external partners, including the private sector globally is encouraging,” Meade said. “In Montserrat, we continue to view the regional integration movement as presenting an over-arching economic platform that can be beneficial to our peoples.”

The Premier said the intention was to bring the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Bill to Parliament for its first reading in September, with full enactment by the end of this year.

He said the island would also proceed to engage the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Caribbean Development Fund “to ensure concurrent accession to these entities, which are inextricably linked to the Revised Treaty.”