The fact that the Caribbean Community did not make a decision on whether Bermuda's was eligible to join the Caribbean Community as an associate member may be a good thing since the Island should first decide if it wishes to join before making any form of application.

And no one wants to take that decision until information on how much it will cost is made public. Last week, Finance Minister Eugene Cox said information the Government had requested several months ago, presumably including costs, had not yet been made available. Nor is there any word yet on the fate of Bermuda's contribution, if any, to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation's marketing campaign.

Premier Jennifer Smith said Bermuda was unhappy with the amount the Island was being asked to contribute, but there has been no announcement on whether a lower price has been agreed or if Bermuda has withdrawn from the campaign, whose value to Bermuda was debatable to begin with.

The same may well be true of Caricom. Even without knowing how much it is going to cost the Island in annual dues, many people are wondering exactly what Bermuda will get in return. Caricom has three primary goals. The first is economic cooperation though a common market, the second is foreign policy coordination and the third is the provision of common services and cooperation in areas such as health, education, communications and industrial relations.

Of those three, Bermuda has already stated that it is not interested in all the facets of a common market, in part because the Island's economy is different and in part because a common market includes provisions like freedom of residence and the freedom to work where you want. The latter is unrealistic given Bermuda's immigration requirements. No problem, says Caricom, you can opt out of that, just as the Bahamas have.

Coordination of foreign policy is impossible too, since Bermuda is a dependent territory and the UK has not delegated foreign policy powers to the Island. But even if Bermuda was independent, it is debatable whether the Island would want to cede foreign policy decisions to another body having just secured the right for itself. But Bermuda could opt out of that provision too.

That leaves the provision of common services and cooperation in health, education and so on. It is inarguable that sharing ideas and programmes is beneficial to everyone. And there are economies of scale to be had in the provision of certain services that more than one country needs. One of the reasons Bermuda has an unusually large Police Service is because of the need to have services such as a scenes of crime office and crime laboratory which could serve more officers in a larger country.

But one wonders what benefit sharing these services with a central Caribbean institution would have when the Island has no direct transport links with the region and when those services are closer, and may sometimes be provided in a more efficient manner in North America. And if the Island wishes to take advantage of training and meetings in the Caribbean, it can and does do so already.

Still, if the costs are not too onerous, Bermuda should still consider joining. But considering that Bermuda was given too high a bill for the tourism campaign, and has not yet, months later, even received the information it sought on Caricom membership, it is likely that the community will decide it is not worth it.