Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, has urged the European parliament to remove Jamaica and Barbados from its list of high-risk jurisdictions for money laundering and terrorist financing.
Prime Minister Holness made the call during a press conference at the close of the 49th regular meeting of the conference of heads of government of CARICOM, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, on Tuesday.
“While the European Union (EU) has recommended to the European parliament, via its delegated regulation of June 2025, that Jamaica and Barbados be delisted, this has not fully materialised as different groups in the parliament, for reasons unrelated to the domestic situation in Barbados and Jamaica, have issued Motions that will block positive action in this regard,” the prime minister explained.
He urged EU officials to reconsider their posture, pointing out that being on the EU Enhanced Delegated List impacts daily life for Jamaican and Caribbean citizens, including complicating everyday banking transactions.
“For the average person, the overbearing regulations are a great frustration, and they could easily conclude it is just the inefficiency of government why we have to fill out so many documents and provide so many forms of identification and answer so many questions to transfer $100… not understanding that there is a global architecture for anti-money laundering and other requirements imposed on States by various global entities,” Holness explained.
He stressed that the problem is a regional one; therefore, governments must come together to interface with these global bodies and lobby on behalf of citizens, so the regulation requirements can be more efficient and simpler for the average person to interface with the financial system.
Prime Minister Holness reiterated that CARICOM is issuing a “strident appeal to the European Union to exercise greater discretion [so] that countries that have complied… through great sacrifice, discomfort and cost to the people of a developing country… that greater consideration be given to our circumstances, and that we are not lumped in with everyone else… or having to wait for an extended period of time before relief can be given to us.”
His appeal follows a similar call made by outgoing CARICOM chair and prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, at the opening ceremony of the 49th regular meeting last Sunday.
Prime Minister Mottley said that because of a technical mechanism by which the EU removes countries, Barbados and Jamaica continue to suffer at the hands of the listing process when they have been deemed to be fully compliant with all the obligations required by the Financial Action Task Force, pointed out that Jamaica and Barbados remain on the list alongside nations such as Gibraltar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Prime Minister Mottley said it is wrong and urged the EU to rectify the issue, noting that “if the shoe were on the other foot, we would be told how to find ways of having our parliament change the manner in which we address this issue, rather than grouping all of the countries in one basket to be the victims of opposition on any country, in spite of the progress made.”