CANOUAN, St. Vincent (AP):
HIS COLLEAGUES scoff at the idea, but Dominica's prime minister says his Caribbean island nation will soon apply for membership in the European Union.
"We are going to officially apply for membership in the EU in a year or two, even though we know that no country so far away has ever been allowed to become a member," Prime Minister Roosevelt Douglas told The Associated Press.
He made the comments Monday during a meeting of Caribbean leaders in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Douglas said his country of 66,000 people should qualify because it is located between Guadeloupe and Martinique, two French provinces in the Caribbean. Most of the country's trade and foreign relations are with France, he said.
Douglas hopes membership in the 15-member European Union might strengthen the struggling economy of Dominica, where residents earn an average US$2,500 a year.
"I am not worrying with what other people might say," Douglas said. "I can't just sit around and watch Dominica sink. I have to do something and membership in the EU will be the best thing for Dominica."
There was no immediate reaction from the European Union. The trade group has been considering a number of possible new members ranging from Estonia to Slovenia, but Dominica is not known to be among them.
Fellow Caribbean leaders said they are sceptical.
"I would really like to see how he would succeed," said St. Vincent Prime Minister James Mitchell. "Quite frankly, it remains a mystery to me."
Douglas, a Canadian-trained political scientist, was elected in January and first pitched his plan at February's Franco-Caribbean summit in Guadeloupe. No other leaders in the region have endorsed the idea.
"I really don't know how he is going to do it other than by giving up the island's independence and becoming a part of France," said Keith Mitchell, prime minister of Grenada.
Douglas said his country has grown closer to France in recent years, with officials in Guadeloupe expressing interest in an agreement to speed travel permits between Dominica and the French territories.
French banks have shown an interest in funding investment projects, and a French team is expected to visit soon to examine Dominica's request for US$250 million in aid to repair roads, build schools and improve health facilities.
French experts are also helping Dominica install new runway lights at its airport and plan an airport expansion.
Douglas said he will seek support for EU membership from liberal governments in Europe.
"If I ask my friends in the Caribbean Community for help, I am sure that all I will get is talk," he said.
