ROSEAU, Dominica, Jul13, CMC – The opposition Dominica Freedom Party (DFP)Monday called on the government to state whether Dominica has been included in an ultimatums an nouned by the European Union (EU) to Caribbean countries to phase out their Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes by June 1, 2028 or face the prospect of their nationals enjoying visa-free access to EU member states.
In a statement, the DFP said that while Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly announced that St. John’s had been given the ultimatum, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is yet to indicate whether it applies to Dominica.
“The government of Dominica has not communicated with the citizens on that matter; however, Prime Minister Brown has indicated in his reporting that similar communication and requests from the EU have been made to the other countries that have CBI programmes, including Dominica,” the DFP said.
Last weekend, the leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) whose countries operate a CBI pogramme announced plans to mount a “high-level mission” to Brussels after the EU announced plans to end visa free programme for the sub-region.
In a three-page statement, the leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis said they would undertake the mission “at the earliest appropriate opportunity” to engage directly with the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Council, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
“These engagements will seek to deepen mutual understanding of the unique vulnerabilities and development realities of small island developing states, to explore practical and mutually beneficial solutions to the issues identified by the European Union, and to strengthen the longstanding partnership between the European Union and the Eastern Caribbean.”
Under the CBI programme, foreign investors are granted citizenship of the island in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the country.
The OECS leaders met at the invitation and under the chairmanship Prime Minister Skerrit to consider “recent developments” concerning the CBI programmes and the implications of the European Union’s revised visa suspension mechanism.
In its statement, the DFP said that “this untenable development comes as no surprise” to it, since the citizens may recall that in the lead-up to the 2019 general elections, the party had “warned extensively that Dominica would lose the CBI programme given the lack of proper due diligence and adherence to good ethical standards and concerns of a possible threat to the security of EU member countries.
“It is only a government that is devoid of creativity, visionary leadership, and integrity that would lead a nation to become so dependent on its main source of revenue from the CBI programme after being warned by many, including the International Monetary Fund that losing the CBI programme would result in a national fiscal collapse that would have dire consequences for the economy. ’
The DFP has noted Dominica’s heavy reliance on the CBI programme, noting that the government will experience greater difficulty in paying its local suppliers and may struggle to pay its central government debts.
“CBI funding for the international airport and other capital projects will no longer be available by 2028, causing further damage to the country’s economic prospects and adding to the country’s woes.
‘Adjustment to the impending crisis through a steep increase in taxes over the short timeframe of less than two years before the CBI programme effectively ceases would be just as damaging to the country’s economic prospects as cuts in recurrent expenditure,” the opposition party said.
It warned that the government will be forced to cut expenditure on several programmes, and that should the government seek to cope by defaulting on its debt, this will certainly trigger a collapse in the country’s creditworthiness, resulting in difficulty borrowing for capital projects such as road rehabilitation and construction, among other government infrastructure.
“All of these possibilities point to an impending collapse of the Dominican economy, or at the very least, they would usher in a period of extreme hardship for the people of Dominica. And the sad reality is that all of this could have been avoided with good governance, and if the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) administration had listened to the warning and had taken the necessary measures advised by many, including the International Monetary Fund.”
The party said that the way out of the current and impending worsening malaise “is certainly not by entrusting the same government to take the country out of the mess in which it has placed the nation”.
The party said that it has embarked on “a renewed effort to organise towards preparing the country to deal with the impending crisis and to bring good governance back to Dominica.
It promised that “much will be shared with the public …in the coming month”.
CMC/cj/ir/2026