Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
What Is the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an intergovernmental organization that advances economic integration and trade cooperation among its member states in the Eastern Caribbean.
Understanding the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
The OECS was established on June 18, 1981, when the original seven members marked the Treaty of Basseterre in the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis, for which the agreement is named. In 2010, this treaty was amended to lay out an economic union, eliminating or lessening trade and customs barriers and permitting goods, individuals, and capital to move all the more freely.
The protocol members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Commonwealth of Dominica
- Grenada
- Montserrat
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- St. Vincent and The Grenadines
The associate members of the OECS are:
- The British Virgin Islands
- Anguilla
- Martinique
- Guadeloupe
As an economic union, the OECS is a single market and customs union where goods, individuals, and capital are free to move. The organization likewise attempts to bring together monetary policy and policies connected with government taxes and revenue, as well as orchestrating their approach toward trade, wellbeing, education, the environment, agriculture, the travel industry, and energy.
Eight members share a single currency, the Eastern Caribbean Dollar. They are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and The Grenadines. The British Virgin Islands utilize the United States dollar, while Martinique and Guadeloupe, as overseas divisions of France, utilize the euro.
Geologically, these islands form a close nonstop archipelago across the Caribbean Sea, known as the Lesser Antilles.
Benefits of OECS Membership
Residents of protocol members are free to traverse borders without limitations. They can do as such with a visa, however a driver's license, national ID card, elector registration card, and social security card are likewise accepted. To live in another protocol member state, a person isn't required to show means of support. They can live and work in another protocol member state endlessly.
All protocol member states are additionally members of the bigger gathering, the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and its initiative the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). Policies of the OECS are facilitated to line up with members' participation in the CSME. Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands are likewise associate members of CARICOM.
Notwithstanding the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, which oversees monetary policy and the Eastern Caribbean dollar, the OECS perceives two different institutions: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority. Moreover, the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority is the regulatory body that administers the telecommunications sector in the region.
Features
- Seven states are protocol members, meaning they partake in the benefits of free movement of individuals, capital, and goods, while four are associate members.
- The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is an economic union containing 11 member states in the Eastern Caribbean.
- Eight members share a currency, the Eastern Caribbean Dollar.
