CSME structures – Governance

The ministerial body with principal responsibility for the development and trading arrangements within the Single Market and Economy is the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

COTED

 COTED brings together ministers responsible for several areas such as agriculture, industry, tourism, trade and transportation.  COTED  also works closely with the Legal Affairs Committee to harmonise national laws for the operation of the Single Market and Economy.

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 COHSOD

 The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) is also deeply involved in the establishment of the CSME. The COHSOD focuses on issues such as the implementation of support measures to facilitate the free movement of persons, in particular the establishment of national and regional accreditation arrangements; the implementation of the agreement on the transfer of social security benefits; coordination of the development and implementation of a human resource development strategy; and the harmonisation of labour laws. In this latter area, the COHSOD works closely with the Legal Affairs Committee.
The Council for finance and Planning (COEAP), which  plays a central role in coordinating key economic arrangements within the Single Market and Economy. These include the movement of capital and the provision of financial services, such as banking and insurance and promoting the convergence of economic policies and performance. In other words, setting and achieving similar economic goals through, for example, the coordination of foreign exchange and interest rate policies and the harmonisation of fiscal policies.

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In a true sense, the Single Market cannot be separated from the Single Economy as activities in both areas are tightly interwoven. Consequently, all three councils must coordinate their work as policy decisions taken by one Council can and will, in many cases, affect activity throughout our Community and thus have an impact on the areas of competence of the other councils. This is true not only at the regional level across Councils but also at the level of Member States, where policy decisions taken by one member state can also affect activity elsewhere in our Community.

The Conference has assigned responsibility for promoting and coordinating the development and implementation of the CSME, to a Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Barbados, lead Head of Government with responsibility for this area of the Community's development. The Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy was established in 2001 to give impetus to the establishment and operation of the CSME. The sub-committee is assisted by an Advisory Council comprising representatives of regional institutions and civil society, the private sector and labour organisations.