THE HAGUE - The far-right Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) has renewed its call for Curaçao, Aruba, and St. Maarten to become fully independent from the Netherlands. MP Peter van Haasen made the case during a parliamentary debate on the future of the three Caribbean countries within the Kingdom.

Van Haasen argued that as long as the islands rely on Dutch financial support, the Netherlands should retain a say in their governance. He added that true self-determination would only come once the islands achieved independence, similar to Suriname’s transition in 1975.

The PVV, led by Geert Wilders, has consistently advocated for cutting constitutional ties with the three countries. However, despite this longstanding stance, no steps toward independence were taken during the tenure of former PVV member Zsolt Szabó, who briefly served as State Secretary for Kingdom Relations.

The debate in Parliament also led to some confusion. GroenLinks-PvdA MP Raoul White initially misunderstood Van Haasen’s remarks, asking why the islands should be granted more autonomy and how this would differ from the status of the Dutch Wadden Islands. Van Haasen clarified that he was not proposing more autonomy, but full independence for the three Caribbean countries.

The call underscores the PVV’s push to fundamentally reshape Kingdom relations, though there appears to be little political momentum among other parties to follow through on the proposal. Meanwhile, the governments of Curaçao, Aruba, and St. Maarten have not indicated any desire to pursue independence at this time.