THE HAGUE - Undersecretary Knops demands that Curaçao and Sint Maarten agree to the Dutch conditions for emergency loans by Wednesday at the latest. There is a lot of support for this in the Dutch Parliament, according round of questions to the Dutch MPs.

On Wednesday, the Second Chamber will debate the financial situation and millions of aid from The Hague to the autonomous islands. Patience in the Dutch cabinet - but also in the Second Chamber - is starting to run out after weeks of discussions.

The largest coalition party, VVD, thinks that Knops must set a deadline. “All waste of time is a shame. The government of Curaçao and Sint Maarten now has to work hard for the residents,” said Member of Parliament André Bosman. "The pressure from the Second Chamber is increasing."

"I have informed the countries that they have until Wednesday 20 May at 5 pm (Dutch time) to still accept the proposal that was on the table in writing," Knops writes to the Chamber. "For any country that has not accepted the proposal in time, the proposal will lapse."

"Shocking how Curaçao and Sint Maarten deals with the population"

MP of Ronald van Raak of the SP agrees with "a hard deadline" of the cabinet. “Otherwise, we will have to help the people on Curaçao and Sint Maarten differently through direct help. We then have to work around the government, which is very complicated.”

"We must help the people who are hungry now, have no work or money," said SP MP Ronald van Raak. “The position of the government of Curaçao and Sint Maarten is really shocking. It seems like an unwillingness to help those who are hungry, out of work or money.”

"It may seem very cold, but it is not"

Opposition party GroenLinks also agrees with the government's position. “Both health and the economy cannot afford any further delay. In that sense, action must be taken," said GroenLinks MP Nevin Özütok. "That's how I read the letter of the deadline."

According to GroenLinks and SP, many of the Dutch requirements for emergency loans are issues that have been discussed with the three islands for much longer. Both parties want to be reassured by Undersecretary Knops that the people who earn relatively more on the islands will bear the heaviest burdens.

CDA warns: "The Netherlands is also in heavy weather"

The other coalition partner CDA thinks "the tight and tougher line of the cabinet" is necessary. "I can imagine that the cabinet wants to know where they stand," says MP Chris van Dam.

CDA finds it "understandable" that the cabinet is strict about financial support. "I think everyone in Aruba, Curaçao and Aruba should realize that it is also very difficult in the Netherlands."

D66: "One Kingdom"

"There is also a rush regarding coalition party D66. "The support money must in any case end up with the people who are now forced to sit at home, without bread on the shelf and without a safety net," said MP Antje Diertens.

“People with obesity and chronic diseases, which are common on the islands, are also extra vulnerable if they contract the virus. We must not forget it. We are one Kingdom. What makes this crisis very clear is that we have to get through this difficult time together.”