THE HAGUE – The Council of Ministers today deferred the decision to mandate State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Alexandra Van Huffelen to conclude an agreement with the governments of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten on the refinancing of the liquidity support provided in the context of the corona crisis.
The term of the (interest-free) loans, a total of 1 billion euros, ends October 10. This week, Van Huffelen started negotiations with the governments to refinance the loans under conditions to be agreed upon, such as the repayment term and interest. The CAS countries are betting on (at least partial) debt cancellation, long-term and low interest rates.
According to Van Huffelen's spokesperson, the decision has been postponed to a subsequent meeting because the cabinet needs further consultation, which could also be attended by the Minister of Finance Kaag, who is absent today.