Caption: Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo. AZP News/Prior Beharry
Summary
- Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo announced Trinidad and Tobago’s removal from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.
- He rejected Opposition claims that the groundwork for delisting was done under the previous administration.
- Tancoo said the former government knew since 2017 that T&T was listed but failed to secure removal.
- He outlined steps taken after the UNC took office in May 2025, including technical coordination and a June 2025 delegation to Romania for the Global Forum process.
- He said the Government will maintain compliance through monitoring, stronger oversight, and institutional capacity-building.
By Alicia Chamely
THE Opposition cannot pretend that Trinidad and Tobago’s delisting from the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions was the result of its work, rather than that of the 10-month-old United National Congress (UNC) Government.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo made the statement during Tuesday’s sitting of the Senate at the Red House, Port of Spain, where he officially announced Trinidad and Tobago’s removal from the EU’s blacklist.
Commenting on the achievement, Tancoo said: “This achievement moves us closer to renewed prosperity and sustainable growth, empowering us to provide better services, stronger infrastructure, and improved living standards for all citizens.”
Responding to recent Opposition statements that it had laid the groundwork for the delisting and that the Government was taking credit for its work, Tancoo said: “Since 2017, the PNM knew that Trinidad and Tobago was on this list. They knew the consequences.”
“And yet, after years in office, they still could not get Trinidad and Tobago off the list,” he added.
Tancoo briefly outlined the steps taken by the UNC Government after it assumed office in May 2025 to secure Trinidad and Tobago’s removal.
Saying the Government had committed to restoring the country’s international credibility, he said: “We coordinated the technical teams and sent a high-level delegation—including the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Central Bank, and the Registrar General’s Department—to Romania in June 2025 for the Global Forum process.”
“It was this UNC Government that defended Trinidad and Tobago’s position in relation to the Second Round Phase Two Exchange of Information on Request peer review onsite examination report,” he said.
Tancoo added: “Thereafter, it was submitted to all Global Forum members for comments, and the final rating was published in July 2025, with Trinidad and Tobago receiving an overall rating of ‘Largely Compliant’. Let that be placed on the record.”
He said that, under the previous government, as of the EU’s update on February 18, 2025, Trinidad and Tobago remained on the blacklist, having not satisfied the requirements for removal.
“That was the last status on record under the PNM,” Tancoo said. “So those opposite cannot now come to this House and pretend that delisting was somehow sitting on a shelf waiting to happen. It was not.”
Responding to further public comments by the Opposition, he said: “If it were so easy, if it were so automatic, if they had truly completed the job, then Trinidad and Tobago would not have remained blacklisted year after year—review after review, update after update—while they were in office.”
He added: “No amount of PNM propaganda, misdirection, or machinations will distract this Government from its duty to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Tancoo said Trinidad and Tobago’s delisting, and the Government’s efforts to strengthen international confidence in the country, reflected decisive governance and “the capacity of Trinidad and Tobago to meet the highest international standards when there is focus, coordination, and accountability.”
“This Administration will maintain compliance, deepen reform, and ensure that Trinidad and Tobago never again faces the reputational and economic consequences associated with prolonged listing,” he said.
“We will embed structured monitoring mechanisms, strengthen regulatory oversight, and reinforce technical capacity across the relevant institutions to ensure sustained adherence to international standards,” Tancoo added.
