Antigua and Barbuda PM Browne Calls for Stronger EU–Caribbean Cooperation Against Transnational Crime

Browne Calls for Stronger EU–Caribbean Cooperation Against Transnational Crime

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Monday called for deeper security cooperation between the Caribbean and the European Union, warning that transnational organized crime poses a shared threat that respects no borders.

Addressing the inaugural Caribbean–EU Parliamentary Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, Browne said the geographic proximity of European Union territories and Caribbean states makes security collaboration a practical necessity.

“We also recognise that European Union countries have a physical and lawful presence in the Caribbean – our territories lie next to each other in the Caribbean sea,” Browne told lawmakers from both regions.

“Therefore, together, we have a shared concern about transnational organised crime which respects no borders,” he said.

Browne identified intelligence-sharing, maritime cooperation, judicial collaboration and financial-crime interdiction as key areas where the partnership could produce tangible results.

“Intelligence-sharing, maritime cooperation, judicial collaboration, and financial-crime interdiction are areas where our partnership can deliver concrete results for both our regions,” he said.

The Prime Minister framed security cooperation as part of a broader, multidimensional partnership between the EU and the Caribbean, extending beyond trade and investment to include food and energy security, health resilience and protection against climate disruption.

“Our engagement with the European Union must not be confined to trade and investment alone,” Browne said. “It must extend to multidimensional security.”

The three-day Assembly brings together European and Caribbean parliamentarians under the Samoa Agreement framework to strengthen cooperation on climate change, trade, governance and regional stability.

Browne said effective security collaboration is essential to preserving political stability and economic credibility in small states, while also safeguarding European interests in the wider Atlantic space.

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