Charting a path to sustainable development: Goals of CARICOM and the EU

The Caribbean Community was aimed at ‘full integration of the national markets of all Member States into a single unified and open market area’. Development is a concept which has proven difficult to define but has been understood as ‘a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy’. The process requires removing the barriers to freedom, including poverty, tyranny, poor economic opportunities, systemic social deprivation and state intolerance or over-activity. It was acknowledged from an early stage that sustainable development requires ‘the participation of diverse stakeholders and perspectives’ that have different and at times opposing views and goals. The Caribbean experience highlights that trade liberalisation is not enough for development, and there must be an integrated approach. Regional integration is based on the premise of equality and equitable distribution of prosperity and regional stability. This philosophy is a powerful tool to combat the economic and social challenges of globalization.