THE OECS, NOW LED BY ANTIGUA PM GASTON BROWNE, WILL NOW DESPERATELY PETITION THE EU TO KEEP ITS VISA FREE STATUS; DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH, GASTON

It appears that GASTON BROWNE, now Chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), cannot read; the EU, in a major policy statement, has ruled that it will no longer extend visa-free entry to any jurisdiction that sells economic Citizenships (CBI/CIP). This essentially removes the sole major benefit that attracts individuals from high-risk countries to Caribbean CBI passports., and as this Fall, the EU initiates 100% screening of visitors via its ETIAS scheme, there will be an existential threat to the lucrative CBI programs that have supported dysfunctional Caribbean economies for decades, hence the OECS, and Browne's fears for an insolvent Antiguan Government unable to pay its swollen and often superfluous staff.

Remember, the EU, which has forced its Members to terminate, with prejudice, all three of its former CBI programs ( Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta), due to a lack of actual residency, contact with and knowledge of local culture, and direct ties with their adopted state, and this is an ironclad decision in its part. The OECS will not bend, and Browne, who faces potential indictment in the United States in any one of three Federal criminal cases ( Maduro, Saab Moran and a new yet unfiled Miami case), is feeling pressure from his constituents, who fear the CIP gravy train is coming to and end, and are still angry about their loss of US visa privileges.

The choice of Browne to be Chairman, through the rotation, was a poor and
dangerous act on the part of the OECS, whose other Members may now face adverse actions they did not choose to endure, should Browne alienate the EU, the US or the UK, through his acts and needs whilst in office. Browne could inflict pain on all of the regional members, as they have no control over him; Things are about to get worse.