The Caribbean Community is being warned against adopting a wait-and-see approach concerning Britain’s pending exit from the European Union. Instead, Caribbean Nations are being urged to quickly set up a task force to monitor developments on the transition.

The call came from the panel at a University of the West Indies (UWI) forum on BREXIT, the term used to describe the pending divorce between Britain and the EU, prompted by a June 23 vote.

UWI Vice-Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles, suggested that CARICOM partner with UWI to set up a task force “to research, monitor and report on the weekly developments that will take place over the next two years.” He emphasized that it is important for governments and private sector leaders to have access to factual and detailed information that will guide their decisions.

“The days of ad hoc decision-making are over. The university is already in the field on every relevant front and can become the agency through which leaders are provided with the information and insights to craft the Caribbean journey through the changing environment,” Sir Hilary said.

Former prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, who was among the panellists, opined that while the split may have some impact on the Caribbean, he did not think it would reach critical proportions. He predicted that the British economy may be hard it, may possibly even go into recession, but it would not be contagious.

For his part, British Ambassador to Jamaica, David Fitton, agreed that the Caribbean should avoid a wait-and see approach, although it would take some time for Britain to fully exit the EU.

He said that he could not see why there would be a negative change in the relationship between Europe and the Caribbean as a result of the exit.

The panel was jointly hosted by UWI’s Office of the Vice Chancellor and the Caribbean Policy Research Institute, and was held at Mona Campus, Jamaica.