EU Roadmap for engagement with civil society Eastern Caribbean (ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, BARBADOS, DOMINICA, GRENADA, ST. KITTS AND NEVIS, ST. LUCIA and ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES) FOR THE PERIOD (2021 - 2024)

The Eastern Caribbean countries are small-island developing states (SIDS) whose economies rely heavily on services (mainly tourism and financial services) and marginally on other sectors like manufacturing and agriculture. Consequently, the global financial crisis and the travel restrictions linked to the COVID- 19 pandemic severely affected their economies. They are also characterised by a high exposure to natural hazards (notably hurricanes, earthquakes and volcano eruptions), high levels of public debt, limited fiscal space, narrow economic base, high dependence on imports and a small population size.

These constitute severe and multi-faceted obstacles to rights-based policies, limiting the resources for public services and putting the most vulnerable women, children and the elderly in a particularly difficult situation (i.e. in rural areas). Eastern Caribbean societies are defined by democratic values where, unlike recent global trends, freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression continues to be respected by national governments. This strategy is setting out the EU engagement with civil society in the small island states of the Eastern Caribbean.