THE HAGUE - Does the current cabinet, led by Prime Minister Schoof, have a different vision for the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom compared to the previous government? This is the intriguing question posed by the Parliamentary Committee for Kingdom Relations to State Secretary Zsolt Szabó, following the discussion of the budget for Kingdom Relations and the BES fund. 

One of the most pressing inquiries from the committee was: "What are the differences between the current cabinet's policies and those of the previous one, given that many budget items state that there are no policy changes?" Another pointed question raised was about taxation in the Caribbean territories of the Kingdom. 

The committee asked: "What is the current state of tax compliance in Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten? How much of the imposed tax is actually being collected? And how much remains uncollected or is written off?" 

As for issues related to the Caribbean Netherlands, which includes Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (the BES islands), the committee inquired: "What is being done to structurally lower the cost of living for people on the BES islands?" Additionally, they asked for updates on potential policies to regulate legal migration to these islands, particularly from European Netherlands, and whether further conditions would be applied. 

The responses to these questions will shed light on whether the current government plans any significant shifts in how it manages relations with the Caribbean regions of the Kingdom. The scrutiny reflects growing concerns about both economic policies and the integration of the Caribbean territories within the Kingdom’s broader framework.