PHILIPSBURG, WILLEMSTAD - The Sint Maarten Parliament approved the highly discussed ENNIA Framework Agreement yesterday. A key addition was included in the agreement that allows Sint Maarten to save 37 million guilders, effectively shifting part of the financial burden to Curaçao. In essence, ENNIA pension holders are now guaranteed their pensions, but Sint Maarten and Curaçao will no longer share responsibility for covering all costs for policyholders as originally planned. The responsibility now falls solely on Curaçao.
The ENNIA solution is closely linked to Sint Maarten’s Covid-19 loans. Failure to approve the agreement would have had serious repercussions for the island. Two months ago, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten urgently appealed to the country to approve the agreement, leading to the inclusion of the so-called addendum.