Knops: No loan for Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten without an agreement

THE HAGUE - Undersecretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops is relentless: Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten will not receive new loans if they have not first complied with all the conditions attached to the second tranche and there is political agreement on the requirements set by the Netherlands for the third installment. The Undersecretary underlines this in his answer to questions from the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.

The answer shows that the Dutch government is not prepared to make any concessions to the conditions set, of which the establishment of a Caribbean reform entity entirely under Dutch control is the most controversial part. Knops makes no mistake about this: “The organization of the entity is funded with Dutch tax money. The financial and other resources that the entity will provide in the performance of its tasks are also, in any case in the first instance, entirely provided by the Dutch citizen. That is why the entity has also been designed as a Dutch independent administrative body. And in view of this choice, it is easy to explain that the members of the entity are appointed by the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.”

Knops denies that the constitutional autonomy of the countries is being affected: “With the powers assigned in the proposal to the Caribbean reform entity, an independent administrative body under Dutch law, this autonomy is sufficiently safeguarded in the cabinet's opinion. It is important to note that the entity will not take over any legal and regulatory powers from the national bodies of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, but will only be able to act in a supportive manner and in the sphere of supervision.”

Time is running out for the countries. The funds from the first two tranches have now been largely spent and the bottom of their treasury is beginning to come into view. The Kingdom Council of Ministers will meet again on 11 September.




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