Written evidence submitted by the Government of Anguilla (OBJ0173)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This submission is made for and on behalf of the Government of Anguilla by its Representative. The following comprises a summary of the submissions made herein:

Anguilla was not consulted prior the EU Referendum and, was not given a vote; The Governor of Anguilla is responsible for the external affairs of the territory in accordance with section 28(2)(a) of the Constitution of Anguilla; Anguilla’s constitution is the most outdated of all of the UK Overseas Territories; Anguilla is hea vily dependent upon the neighbouring French collectivité of Saint Martin and Dutch country of Saint Maarten (together referred to hereafter as St Martin *) for essential goods and services and the movement of 90% of its 79,000 annual visitors; In the abse nce of the implementation of infrastructure development on Anguilla it is essential that its marine and air borders with St Martin* remain frictionless and fluid to facilitate the efficient and cost effective movement of people, goods and services; The EU is the only source of significant developmental aid available to Anguilla and may cease during 2019. No alternative funding of the same magnitude or based upon the same criteria has yet been identified or confirmed by the UK and Anguilla is prevented from sourcing funds without the UK’s permission; Without EU funding Anguilla would be unable to balance its budget; French Saint Martin adopted a hard marine border with Anguilla several years ago that closes each night at 10pm. Access to the island may deteri orate further in the context of Brexit ; The maintenance of a soft border, and/or the establishment of a Common Travel Area analogous to that proposed for Ireland is essential for the welfare of the people of Anguilla; The Government of Anguilla welcomes th e opportunity to make oral submissions to the Committee.

INTRODUCTION

Unlike Gibraltar, Anguilla was not consulted, nor invited to participate in the EU Referendum, as it is not located within Europe. However, like Gibraltar, Anguilla shares a border with an EU Member State in the guise of the collectivité of French Saint Martin and the Dutch country of Saint Maarten which together comprise the neighbouring island, St Martin*. Anguilla is heavily dependent upon St Martin* which is effectively its international gateway for people, goods and services that are essential for the general welfare of the people of territory.

It is widely recognised, although not as yet expressly stated by the UK Government, that among the UK Overseas Territories that are situated outside of Europe, Anguilla faces the most complex, difficult and extreme challenges arising directly from Brexit. The extent of the problems arising from Brexit has not, as yet, been comprehensively reviewed, nor the means of combating them fully identified.

With the advent of Article 50 there is only a small window of opportunity to negotiate Brexit. We trust that the negotiations and their outcome will be conducted in a manner that will not result in deterioration of the conditions on Anguilla. There is also little opportunity to prepare alternative measures for Anguilla that may be required, as a matter of emergency should the outcome of Brexit prove unsatisfactory. There is, however, scope for the UK Government to make a firm, binding commitment to Anguilla to take all necessary steps to ensure that the territory will not suffer whether directly or indirectly as a result of Brexit.

The JMC-OT-EN forum is designed to address the interests of all non-European Overseas Territories which together have a catalogue of issues such as EU funding, access to the EU market for goods and services, Erasmus and other student opportunities and the free movement of people, each of which is shared with Anguilla. Anguilla will therefore continue to participate in that forum. However, faced with our unique, critical challenges capable of severely and adversely affecting the welfare of the entire population we respectfully request additional direct ministerial and official interaction in order to ensure that the UK Government becomes fully conversant with the sensitive and often nuanced issues that are crucial to the viability of Anguilla. In parallel we wish to explore how Anguilla may attain a higher level of self-sufficiency thereby reducing its exposure to third parties that have no obligation to protect the interests of Anguilla or its citizens who are British.

BACKGROUND

Anguilla is a UK Overseas Territory and is the most northern of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. The territory comprises 23 islands and cays with few natural resources, suffering from very limited water supplies. Only the largest island is inhabited. Anguilla extends to thirty-three square miles, and is three and a half miles at it widest and sixteen miles in length. It is largely divided into locally owned landholdings derived from the island’s culture of subsistence farming. It is separated from St Martin* by the narrow Anguilla Passage which is eight miles wide.

Anguilla’s economy is based upon tourism, agriculture and fisheries. Taxation is relatively low as public services are limited, and the island’s infrastructure remains generally underdeveloped by EU standards. With a robust expatriate population, although comprising only 3% of the island’s population, Anguilla’s GDP is nonetheless distorted to such an extent that it no longer qualifies for UK aid, and indeed when it did seldom received any.

Sitting in shallow waters and with a small airport and deteriorating quays for passengers and freight, Anguilla has had to look to neighbouring St Martin* for support as the nearest island that benefits from deep water ports, and an international airport with access to America and Europe. St Martin* has established itself as the transshipment hub for several islands in the region including Saint Christopher, Nevis, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthélemy and Anguilla. With a small population of 15,000 compared to St Martin*’s 100,000, the transshipment of commodities from St Martin* to Anguilla, that include essentials such as food and petroleum, is the only practical option and is therefore imperative. 90% of the Anguilla’s fuel comes from St Martin* meaning practically all of Anguilla’s energy supply is dependent upon transshipment through an EU related island. Other essential services are also routed though St Martin* including Anguilla’s Royal Mail.

Currently, Anguilla has a rudimentary hospital that is incapable of diagnostics such as MRI scanning, (which is only available in St Martin*), necessitating regular airlift of patients to foreign countries for comprehensive diagnostics together with secondary and tertiary medical care. Invariably medical expatriation is required to be privately funded by the patient hence with limited government resources the need to travel abroad for treatment may endanger the lives of those unable to fund transportation. St Martin* is the only cost effective and practical option available for many, and even then it does not provide a comprehensive service. The current annual quota of 4 patients permitted access to the NHS in the UK for medical treatment that can not be provided in the region applies even for those that may have lived and worked in the UK and contributed to the UK’s National Insurance. This further exacerbates Anguilla’s medical problem forcing it to rely upon foreign countries to provide essential medical services to British citizens. If Brexit reduces this avenue for treatment an already inadequate situation could become untenable.

Like Gibraltar and Northern and Southern Ireland there are strong, historic familial ties that bridge borders established by Europe over time and which actively link Anguilla to the surrounding islands, in particular St Martin*. This has given rise to a great deal of goodwill at a local level, particularly with Dutch Saint Maarten, ensuring that the movement of people, goods and services across borders is conducted efficiently and therefore cost effectively, albeit subject to conventional customs and immigration controls that have operated for many years, as the islands are not subject to the EU Single Market, Free Trade Area or the Customs Union.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT

The border between French Saint Martin and Anguilla has proved more problematic however, with the operation of what is tantamount to a curfew imposed by St Martin on Anguilla each night at 10pm when boats of any nation destined to or from Anguilla are prohibited from entering French waters. The timing of certain international flight schedules has meant a significant number of visitors destined for Anguilla are regularly trapped on St Martin* overnight, as the ban is not generally publicised. Relations further deteriorated when fresh fish stocks from Anguilla that were traditionally traded in Saint Martin* were dumped by French customs officers as a result of the strict interpretation of EU regulations and purported instructions from Paris, with the UK Referendum cited as justification for the marked change in attitude.

With a population of 15,000 and having experienced limited support from the UK, Anguilla has endeavoured to use local diplomacy to protect its access to the world and to essential goods and services. With over 90% of the island’s visitors travelling through St Martin* courtesy of the international airport located in Dutch Saint Maarten and the need for those travelling on to Anguilla to traverse the waters or airspace of French Saint Martin, a sustainable symbiotic relationship with St Martin* is imperative for Anguilla as its main economic driver is international tourism. This is also the case for the needs of the resident population.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation at a local level, and the high risks entailed in Brexit for Anguilla, the Government of Anguilla has worked discreetly with the Department for Exiting the EU and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in bringing these crucial issues to the attention of the UK Government. This continues to be necessary as we now understand that few, if any, representations have been made on behalf of the territory by the Governor in respect of Brexit.

As Brexit commences in earnest, the Government of Anguilla is keen to ensure that the highly sensitive and fragile position of Anguilla is protected and that a concerted effort continues to be made on behalf of Anguilla by the UK Government to ensure that the territory is not effectively isolated and ‘cut off’. The risks are high as an increase in tariffs on oil by French and, or Dutch St Martin* may render what is effectively Anguilla’s sole energy source unaffordable for a territory that is experiencing slow economic recovery and whose banking sector has recently been restructured. Such an increase in tariffs would jeopardise the Anguillian economy should its government have to subsidise a major increase in the cost of energy and could undermine its tourism industry whilst at the same time compromising the welfare of the island’s entire population, particularly as the majority of the island’s poor rely upon desalinated drinking water which entails an energy intensive process.

Moreover, a continued hard border between Anguilla and St Martin* would further compromise the island’s tourism offer, as is experienced with the closure of the French border each night making access to Anguilla unattractively difficult and expensive. Similarly the deprivation of medical services essential for the wellbeing of its inhabitants and visitors and other issues such as the island’s postal service must also be addressed if the territory is to remain viable.

Anguilla seeks assurances from the UK Government that the general welfare of the people of Anguilla will not suffer as a result of Brexit, and that this objective will be taken into account throughout the negotiations. Whilst we recognise that the full participation of the Government of Anguilla in Brexit negotiations is neither constitutional nor practical, we respectfully request that the Government of Anguilla now benefit from separate, distinct and closer communication with the Department for Exiting Europe at ministerial and official level in support of the sensitive negotiations that may arise and in respect of Anguilla and the neighbouring French and Dutch islands of St Martin*, Saba, Saint Eustatius, and Saint Barthélemy, that encircle Anguilla and are also homes to many of its citizens.

The risk of France imposing a hard border is real as has been borne out by previous border restrictions and the current curfew, which although justified by them as an ostensible lack of coastguard facilities, may have easily been resolved with their goodwill and Dutch assistance that was offered but declined. In any event whilst Anguilla remains vulnerable in this manner, it may inadvertently become an element in the Brexit negotiations. This may be sustainably avoided by a committed program of implementation of infrastructural upgrading in Anguilla by the UK, failing which Anguilla will remain at the mercy of its European neighbours to such an extent that the general welfare of over 15,000 British citizens will remain at risk. This is all reasonably foreseeable and may expose us all to calls of negligence should we permit this avoidable situation to arise.

Whilst this may appear to be yet another UK Overseas Territory in pursuit of aid, it must be noted that Anguilla has seldom benefitted from UK aid leaving it further exposed to the outcome of Brexit as the EU is the sole significant funder of developmental aid for the island. EU Regional programs that encompass Anguilla are currently being managed by Dutch Saint Maarten until 2020 and are undertaken on the premise of harmonisation, particularly in the field of environmental initiatives. Anguilla recognises the benefit of harmonising initiatives with its close neighbours in order to ensure sustainable improvements in the region and avoid expensive duplication. We also recognise the value of regional cooperation in a place where the people of Anguilla endure annual hurricanes and regular droughts with the help of their neighbours. We therefore hope that in negotiating Brexit regard will be had by the UK and its European counterparts to the benefits of continued, and in some cases improved, collaboration. This of itself may provide a pathway for territories and countries, such as Anguilla, that lie in such close proximity to EU territories, countries or collectivitiés to develop an ongoing consultative and participatory relationship with the EU through the auspices of the overseas interests of certain member states, thereby adding a constructive dimension to the UK’s own relationship with the EU. This approach accords with the Prime Minister’s objective of establishing a post Brexit partnership with the EU which has met with favour amongst some foreign territories and their member states.

As with international relations, International Financial Services lie within the remit of the Governor of Anguilla. Anguilla has a small financial services industry, and is currently in the process of working with the UK Government to develop and extend its systems to facilitate the introduction of public registers and to introduce the requisite legislation that will place Anguilla alongside the UK as one of the world leaders in the field of financial transparency. With limited funds and capacity, the pace of Anguilla’s progress in the development of financial services ultimately resides with the UK.

HOW ANGUILLA MAY SUPPORT THE UK IN A POST BREXIT ECONOMY

The true potential of Anguilla both for itself and the UK has yet to be realised. The territory sits at the gateway of the Panama Canal that is marked by the lighthouse on Anguilla’s Sombrero Island. This is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world through which over 20% of the world’s shipping passes each year and is therefore of strategic, global importance.

When assessed with the UK, Anguilla, in conjunction with the other UK Overseas Territories, holds over 90% of British biodiversity, and a significant percentage of the entire EU. This is magnified by the fact that Anguilla has one of the most extensive marine areas of all the UK Overseas Territories, with its nearest neighbour due north being Newfoundland. The true potential of this area has yet to be assessed.

Anguilla intends to diversify its economy by the development of its fishing industry using the extensive marine skills that reside within the population. It also intends to introduce commercial licensing in order to manage the illicit fishing and whaling conducted in its unpoliced waters. The territory therefore seeks assurances that Anguilla be granted the option to join whatever agreements are arrived at with the EU and with any other third parties, including any trade agreements.

Ranking 8th in attracting the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest tourists, many of whom are influential decision makers in markets important to the UK, the territory would serve as a prime location in which to promote British goods, services, innovation and research, and yet there is barely any evidence of its connections to Britain. This is countered by the loyalty and devotion of its citizens, who in 1967 successfully fought Harold Wilson’s government to remain British. Some fifty years on, we sincerely hope that the true value of Anguilla will now be recognised, treasured, protected and ultimately harnessed in the interests of both Anguilla and Britain alike. To that avail, in updating the 1982 constitution we intend to work with the UK Government to create a new type of relationship that addresses the numerous pitfalls and democratic omissions that exist, in so doing creating a new type of ‘country’ that will be fit for purpose and mutually beneficial for the people, institutions and commerce of the UK and Anguilla in a post Brexit era.

CONCLUSION

The Government of Anguilla is grateful for the interest the Committee has shown in its plight and welcomes the opportunity to appear at an oral hearing to provide further insight into how Brexit may impact upon this little known UK Overseas Territory. We should also like to extend an invitation to visit the island to Committee members to enable them to experience first hand the level of underdevelopment of key public facilities and the extent to which our destiny is so closely entwined with that of St Martin*. This will illustrate the knife-edge upon which we now sit and the grave realities of Brexit for Anguilla.

March 2017