The EPA as Cultural Co-optation
A COLLECTIVE FAILURE
The signing of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in 2008 gave rise to a spirited debate in the English-speaking Caribbean on its alleged merits and demerits. While much of the focus was on the technical aspects of the agreement, some commentators also drew attention to broader aspects which might facilitate a better understanding of the attitudes, expectations, and actions of both sets of negotiators – European Commission officials and the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM). Discussing the unfavourable situation in which the EPA had placed Caricom, Clive Thomas alluded to the influence of elements that were external to both the substantive negotiations and the negotiating process itself:
