Premier Cox Reports On Visit To Brussels

Yesterday [July 1] in the House of Assembly Premier Paula Cox reported on her visit to Brussels, Belgium from the 19th to 21st June 2011.

She said, “I cannot underscore enough the achievement and significance of our Bermuda delegation meeting with senior officials of the European Commission. It is unprecedented for an associated or dependent territory to appear before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, but that is exactly what I did on the second day of my visit, and I was treated no differently than had I been a head of a sovereign state.”

The Premier’s full statement follows below:

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to report to the Honourable House on my visit to Brussels. We met with the European Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of these meetings was to advance the process of broadening and deepening Bermuda’s relations with the European Union, its institutions and Member States.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot underscore enough the achievement and significance of our Bermuda delegation meeting with senior officials of the European Commission. It is unprecedented for an associated or dependent territory to appear before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, but that is exactly what I did on the second day of my visit, and I was treated no differently than had I been a head of a sovereign state.

I was afforded the opportunity to explain Bermuda’s unique constitutional situation of being an overseas UK territory, yet with a higher level of autonomy; advised that that we have received recognition from the OECD and the International Monetary Fund as a transparent, cooperative and well-regulated jurisdiction; and shared our external economic strategy in terms particularly with the EU.

The meetings were webcast so that it was able to be seen all over Europe and indeed the world. However as you might appreciate the discussions of the Economic Committee were especially pivotal that week as they discussed the bailout proposals for Greece.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, I had a series of meetings with the UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU; the Commission General Secretariat; the Director for Governance and the External Aspects of the Single Market; the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

His Excellency, the Governor, Sir Richard Gozney was present for all the meetings except those on the second day at the European Parliament, namely the breakfast meeting and my presentation before the Economic Committee.

Mr. Speaker, these were no mere courtesy calls. It was clear that the attendees had done their homework on Bermuda. They came to the meeting with briefs, covering the political, economic and legal aspects of Bermuda including our work on Solvency II. All of the meetings demonstrated their serious substantive interest.

I am most pleased with the direction of the meetings and that we have forged a relationship with the EU that will continue to grow, particularly as we have received repeated international approbation, particularly from the OECD and IMF, as an open, well-regulated and co-operative jurisdiction.

Mr. Speaker, in addition, I am pleased to advise that my request for the European Commission to accept secondees from Bermuda in its traineeship (“stagiaires”) programme was agreed in-principle.

Not only would this be a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for any successful Bermudians, it would assist in forging even closer relationships between Bermuda and the EU institutions.

Honourable members should note that, the OECD has also initiated discussions with the Ministry of Finance on the matter of secondments from the Ministry of Finance to the OECD Secretariat.

Mr. Speaker, We aim to and need to continue to develop Bermudians outside of Bermuda in the key markets where we are doing business.

These are 2 initiatives that we have identified, but we have also had discussions with CEOs in the Bermuda market who are leading global companies and they are looking for Bermudians finishing school, and have work experience in the EU and US who are committed, motivated, disciplined and hard working and are also seeking a career in some of our key sectors like insurance.

This can prove to be a wonderful opportunity to build future leaders who can come back to Bermuda and take their place in key segments of our vibrant financial services sector.

In the months to come the focus on Europe will increase and the level of visibility by Bermuda and representatives will need to increase. There is an interest in Bermuda and it is in our national interest to ensure that we tell the story about Bermuda.

This will need to continue and to intensify in my view, both by the public and private sector representatives. We all have a stake in doing this so we can achieve the best outcomes for Bermuda.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker

#Europe #PaulaCox

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