NASSAU, BAHAMAS: Prime Minister Philip Davis has slammed the European Union for what he described as its “indefensible” and “immoral” blacklisting of this jurisdiction, demanding: “Remove us from it now.”
During his contribution during the plenary session of the EU-CELAC SUMMIT in Brussels, Belgium Prime Minister Davis addressed the EU blacklisting issue and said: “Remove us from your blacklist. Take your economic feet off our necks… using criteria that are unfairly applied to us, and not to European jurisdictions or those in developed countries.
“What is done in Delaware, North Dakota, and in territories of the European Union is little different to what is done by us. In fact, we have achieved higher compliance standards than all but one EU country. And yet for us, the goalposts have been frequently moved, and the penalties stiffened.”
Davis added: “This means that, when it comes to insurance, for example, any remittances from European reinsurers as a result of claims, are automatically reduced by 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of the monies owed are punitively retained by the EU. And we are poorer for it and less able to rebuild for it.
“Missions, diplomats and nationals employed in our Missions are having their bank accounts closed, or are unable to open bank accounts – What is the message? Are we to close our Missions? And if so, how do we strengthen relationships and promote multilateralism between our countries?
“The blacklisting is indefensible, and it is immoral – remove us from it now.”
Prime Minister Davis also called for support of this nation’s efforts to self-insure.
“Our region is close to becoming uninsurable. The cost of insurance has spiraled upwards for years, and that is for those who are deemed insurable in the first place. We want to develop our own local insurance market to meet the needs of our people, a form of reinsurance.
“But our economies are weighed down by debt, an extraordinary percentage of which is directly or indirectly the result of loss and damage from hurricanes made more intense by the climate crisis.
“We are caught in a vicious cycle of damage, repair and rebuild.
“Without the ability to insure, we cannot rebuild. But, if you in the EU capitalize our self-insurance offering for our most vulnerable, say, for $100 million dollars, we can do it ourselves,” said Davis.
During his address, Prime Minister Davis underscored the threat of climate change, noting that for The Bahamas, the risk is existential.
“The devastation and trauma of Hurricane Dorian are with us still, even as we confront the likelihood that more Category 5 storms are on the way. Even among Small Island States, The Bahamas is especially vulnerable. Our highest point in the country is 63 metres above sea level, and most of our people live under six meters above sea level. We cannot retreat inland, as the rising seas not only overwhelm our coastal regions, but also rise through the porous limestone rocks of our land mass,” Davis said.
“We know what we need to do. We need to strengthen our defenses against rising sea levels. We need to strengthen our defenses against the winds, and rains and floods that come with Category 5 hurricanes. We must acknowledge that the worst-case scenarios are not just possible but probable. We must construct a plan to evacuate the entire country, and we must be able to implement it at high speed and at very short notice.”
