Last Updated on July 8, 2026, 7:31 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The European Union has formally written to five states within the Eastern Caribbean who operate Citizenship by Investment Programmes. The organisation sent out letters to all five Caribbean Jurisdictions and asked them to end their Citizenship by Investment Programmes.
The directive from the European Union also came with a deadline ending 2028.
In the aftermath of the letters, The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda has responded to the 2028 ultimatum issued by the European Union. He has defended the Citizenship by Investment Programme for the crucial role that the programme has played in the growth and development of his country.
While the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, has not given a statement or reacted to the communication from the European Union, The Premier of Nevis has reacted to the “notice” that the European Union.
The Premier talked about the deadline and expressed his concerns on the situation and how non compliance can affect the nations. According to the Premier of Nevis punitive consequences of non compliance may include barring OECS nationals from visa-free access to Europe.
Such a development would not have any positive impacts for the OECS states with CBI Programmes. The Premier of Nevis also highlighted that he has been aware of the need for small island states like St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, to diversify their economy.
In an OP-ED that Premier Brantley wrote, he outlined that at some point, CBI funds made up for as high as 60-70% of annual revenues.
The numbers suggest that these economies are heavily dependent on the funds from only one source of revenue for the economy. The officials have shared that The Premier of Nevis highlighted that with the ultimatum, it is becoming clear that the EU wants the CBI programmes to end, as is proven by the programmes in Malta and Cyprus being closed down.
Premier Brantley expressed his agreement with the views of Prime Minister Browne of Antigua and Barbuda when he defended the importance of the CBI Programme for their economies. Premier Brantley agreed with PM Browne saying EU is seeking to visit incalculable harm on the economies of his country and the wider OECS in the absence of a viable revenue stream to replace the revenue generated by the CBI programmes.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda called on EU to give his country alternatives to fill the funding gap that a closure of CBI would bring to their country and economy.
The Premier said in light of the current circumstances with the world seeing wars and rumours for war, the EU is increasing their investment in preparations of war.
This means that the organisation is most likely to demand that OECS countries shut down our CBI industries without offering any alternatives to us.
To this point, Brantley suggests OECS states to decrease their dependance on CBI inflows and take necessary actions to diversify their respective economies.
The suggestions of the Premier include:
1. Quicken the development of the renewable energy sector for all the countries involved.
- Investing in greater food security, strengthen agriculture sector and agriculture products
- Generate more revenue from the growth of the cruise/tourism industry
- Accelerate investment in the creative economy so it can also become a revenue stream
- Speed up the development of Special Economic Zones
- Get diaspora and locals to invest more at home with incentives
All the suggestions are in one way or another an opportunity for the leadership of the country to diversify their economies. Premier Brantley said, The recent actions by the EU point to an existential threat to OECS economies. The EU is essentially using their immigration policy against the OECS Small Island Nations.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
