Europe has strong historic and cultural ties with the Caribbean
region. Moreover, the region includes seventeen territories with
direct links to some EU Member States (four French 'outermost
regions'; and thirteen 'overseas territories' - six British, six
Dutch and one French). Sixteen Caribbean countries are members
of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and
of the CARIFORUM group. Fifteen of them are parties to the EU-
ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement. The EU's relations with the
Caribbean countries are based on political relations, trade and
development. In addition to the Cotonou Agreement, the
relationship is complemented by the EU- CARIFORUM Economic
Partnership Agreement for trade, and the Joint Caribbean EU
Partnership Strategy. This latter identifies five key areas for
EU-CARIFORUM and intra-CARIFORUM regional cooperation, including
Regional Integration, Haiti's Reconstruction, Climate Change and
Natural Disasters, Crime and Security, and finally Joint Action
in Multilateral Fora