Nevis Premier Mark Brantley says Prime Minister Gaston Browne should not be left to confront the European Union alone over its demand that Eastern Caribbean countries end their Citizenship by Investment programmes. Five Eastern Caribbean countries — Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia — operate programmes through which qualifying foreign investors can obtain citizenship. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada have, for their part, been relatively silent on this matter.” He identified renewable energy as one sector that could help Eastern Caribbean countries diversify their economies and reduce their vulnerability to international shocks. He warned that the international environment is becoming increasingly difficult for small states and said Caribbean countries must take responsibility for building more resilient economies.