THE HAGUE - The Netherlands will help Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten (CAS) to implement international treaties that concern the Kingdom. Many existing treaties only apply to the Netherlands because the CAS countries have insufficient capacity (and sometimes a lack of enthusiasm) to adapt to them.
That is according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives. He also announces that State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Van Huffelen will speak about the democratic deficit in the Kingdom with the Prime Ministers of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten during a four-country consultation on 12/13 January in Philipsburg.
The minister says in his letter that each quarter, the countries receive the periodic list of draft treaties, which indicates all treaties that have not yet been concluded. In addition, the early warning working group, which also includes a representative from each of the countries, receives further information about the scope of the draft treaties that are new on the periodic list of draft treaties. As soon as negotiations on a treaty are under way, an information letter is sent to each of the countries, explaining what the treaty in question intends to regulate. At a later stage, when the negotiations have been completed, the countries will be asked whether they wish to be included in a treaty.
In addition, virtual consultations are increasingly taking place between the ministries in The Hague and the countries to discuss specific treaties in more detail.
It is also expected that the draft consensus kingdom law for the establishment of the Caribbean Agency for Reform and Development (COHO) will be on the agenda. The version submitted by the Netherlands is met with massive resistance, which is why the CAS countries have sent an alternative to The Hague. Although it has been there since, Van Huffelen has not publicly said anything about it.