Full Caricom membership Green Paper published
Cheaper everyday essentials, greater connections for businesses and talent, stronger global partnerships and increased representation in shaping regional policies are among the reasons to pursue full Caricom membership, according to a Green Paper published today.
The 63-page document was released for consultation as Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs, invited residents to become informed and share their views.
Bermuda has been an associate member of the Caribbean Community since 2003 but MPs heard today that the status has “reached its structural limits”.
Ms Lightbourne told the House of Assembly hours before the Green Paper was published that the report examined how the island could move from “the margins of regional decision making to its centre”.
She said: “We are in the room but not at the table. We participate but we do not decide.”
The Green Paper said that full membership represented an annual Caricom contribution increase for the island of about $2 million.
It said: “To put this in perspective, the estimated $2.28 million contribution corresponds to approximately 0.16 per cent of the Government of Bermuda’s 2025-26 annual expenditure, a fraction of the national Budget committed to unlocking high-value benefits currently unavailable to us on our own or under our limited associate member status.”
The paper noted, however, that membership terms for Bermuda would include “specific reservations on treaty provisions, where participation is not possible under our constitutional framework”.
It added that the scope of the island’s Caricom participation would be narrower than that of a fully sovereign member state.
“The Government’s position is that Bermuda’s financial contribution should reflect the terms of membership it is able to accept,” the report said.
“The final contribution will be determined through negotiation with the Caricom secretariat as part of the accession process.”
The document — The Story of Us: Green Paper on Bermuda’s Application for Full Membership in the Caribbean Community and released on a website titled togetherforcaricom.gov.bm — acknowledged that the path towards full membership was shaped and constrained by Bermuda’s constitutional status as a British Overseas Territory.
A letter of entrustment from the UK in 2024 authorised Bermuda to negotiate with Caricom and its member states for the island to become a full member but set conditions that defined the boundaries of what any agreement can contain, such as abstention from talks on issues that directly impact external relations.
“It further stipulates that any proposed text for Bermuda’s full membership must be submitted to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and that a further letter of entrustment will be required before Bermuda can formally enter into any agreement for full membership,” the Green Paper said.
The third of five chapters — What Full Membership Will Mean for Bermudians — said that a shift to full membership represented “a deliberate move to create a stronger, more resilient future for all Bermudians”.
It added that the heightened status would mean the island’s perspectives could be carried within Caribbean collective positions in forums such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation.
On cost of living and the challenges of importing the vast majority of consumables, the paper said: “At a time when the United States, the largest trading partner of both Caricom and Bermuda, is introducing policies that threaten the stability of prices and supplies, Caricom is building new friendships with partners close to home.
“Bermuda was not part of that discussion, even though the outcomes will influence the very supply routes and prices that affect our daily lives.
“Caricom governments are also working side by side to strengthen food and energy security, improve transport links and reduce dependence on distant suppliers.”
The Green Pape highlighted opportunities for services and talent and said that full membership would provide entrepreneurial Bermudian businesses and professionals with “a stronger place in the region’s growing economy”.
The document noted rising demand for collaboration in financial regulation, tourism, technology and creative industries, while the Caribbean Single Market and Economy created a regional network of more than 18 million people.
It pointed to Caricom connections beyond the Caribbean and referenced summits over the past three years with Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil and the African Union.
The Green Paper said: “These gatherings are where major regional projects are launched, financing is negotiated, common positions are forged that expand the Caribbean’s reach and influence.
“These growing partnerships matter for Bermuda.
“They are creating a global network of co-operation that can bring investment, learning and innovation to our shores.
“Full membership would place Bermuda at the heart of these new economic and cultural relationships, ensuring that our perspectives are part of the decisions being made and that our people share in the opportunities they create.”
Protection of the environment through shared climate action was also listed as a reason to deepen integration in the community.
The Green Paper said: “Full membership in Caricom means working with those who understand Bermuda best: small islands that know the cost of isolation and the value of unity.”
It added that the jurisdiction could enjoy a stronger voice “in the global fight for climate justice”.
The document explained that its purpose was to establish “the strategic, legal and historical framework for considering full membership”.
It added: “The Government recognises that the public consultation will generate questions that require rigorous quantitative answers.
“The legal findings of the clause-by-clause review of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and the feedback gathered through this public consultation will form the basis of a White Paper to be presented to Parliament.”
Ms Lightbourne told MPs this morning: “The areas that made full Caricom membership a viable direction for the Government to take were identified as food security, climate resilience, energy resilience, healthcare and public safety, and education and training opportunities.
“These are the daily concerns of Bermudian families.
“They are the same issues that occupy the centre of Caricom’s regional agenda and they are the same issues that were discussed at the 50th Caricom Heads of Government conference in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis, only two weeks ago.
“Bermuda was not in the room when those discussions took place.”
Michael Fahy, the Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, asked in the House of Assembly whether the Government was in receipt of a draft agreement on full Caricom membership.
Alexa Lightbourne, the home affairs minister, said last July that the ministry “upon receipt of the draft membership agreement, will review it — and based on the contents and components included, that will form the basis of a discussion paper and the subsequent consultation”.
She told the House today: “The current full members of Caricom have agreed to the treaty provisions, so the entire treaty provisions and the terms make up the agreement that they would accept or be part of Caricom as a full member.
“Bermuda is unlike the other sovereign islands and so therefore we have refined and also examined the areas of participation, which is included in the Green Paper.
“A draft document is not compiled because we are still in the consultation phase and so that consultation, which the Green Paper pursues, will be able to best refine what the draft agreement entails.”
Mr Fahy also asked whether the minister would commit to tabling the Green Paper in the House later.
Ms Lightbourne confirmed that she will.
Mr Fahy said this afternoon that the One Bermuda Alliance was grateful that the Government had published the Green Paper.
He added: “We urge all Bermudians and stakeholders to carefully review the contents, ask questions and give feedback.
“It is hoped that the Green Paper will give both pros and cons of full membership so that the matter can be fairly and properly considered.
“Given the minister’s promise that a White Paper will eventually be published after full consultation on the Green Paper, all feedback is important.
“The OBA will also review the Green Paper in detail, provide commentary and consider if the Green Paper does what it is supposed to do.
“In other words it must be more than just discussion. Ideally areas for debate, feedback and consideration rather than a sales pitch.
“We look forward to a fulsome debate in Parliament in due course.”
The minister added that the Green Paper invited the public to read, question and respond.
Interested parties can expect to hear more about the proposals in a series of public meetings over the weeks ahead.
Ms Lightbourne said that the Government took seriously the responsibility to separate concern from fear and fear from fiction.
She added: “Some Bermudians say that they will lose their jobs but the Green Paper is clear — Bermuda will retain its full control over immigration and work permits.
“Full membership does not grant Caricom nationals the right to live or work here. The work permit system stays in place.”
The minister added that the reasons companies are attracted to the island — such as economic substance requirements and a world-class regulatory environment — would not be affected by increased Caricom integration.
• To see the Green Paper, see Related Media. This story has been updated with detail from the Green Paper
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