THE HAGUE - The Prime Ministers Wever-Croes (Aruba), Pisas (Curaçao) and Jacobs (Sint Maarten) showed themselves at least as happy with the mutual arrangements yesterday during the press conference in The Hague, as they were two years ago regarding the Kingdom Act Caribbean Body for Reform and Development.
After the signing, the governments of the CAS countries were whistled back by their parliaments. That cannot happen with the mutual arrangements concluded yesterday, because Parliament has no say in this. During a joint press conference, State Secretary Van Huffelen summed up the jubilation displayed with the words "Incredibly fantastic."
The establishment of the mutual arrangements means that the COHO Act is formally repealed. Nothing will change for the content and implementation of the reforms laid down in the country packages. The prime ministers confirmed their commitment to these reforms, while the state secretary reiterated that she would support the countries with people and resources (30 million euros annually).