WILLEMSTAD – According to the government in a press release, they had constructive discussions about the way in which they want to work together with the other countries in the Kingdom. A collaboration based on equality, ownership, and mutual trust. And that fits in with the way all countries look at their common future. A collaboration that should lead to the implementation of reforms that contribute to the resilience and sustainable development of the Countries.
The positions of the four countries in the Kingdom have been shared in an open atmosphere. This once again confirmed the importance of the reforms as laid down in the Country Packages. The purpose of these talks was to make further agreements about the way in which the countries will arrange cooperation in the implementation of the Country Packages.
The government indicates that they have succeeded in reaching an outline agreement on a mutual arrangement. This regulation replaces the proposed consensus Kingdom Act COHO (Caribbean Agency for Reform and Development). This Kingdom Act has been submitted to Parliament and the Dutch House of Representatives and has received a critical response. Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have taken the initiative and have come up with a proposal that has been discussed over the four countries' conference. The aim was to arrive at a mutual arrangement, in which, among other things, agreements about the working method, the method of reporting, the support from the Netherlands, and the duration of the arrangement are laid down. And that does justice to the equal relationships within the Kingdom.
“We have worked hard to make the agreements more concrete. The agreements will be worked out in more detail by our official teams in the near future. A final mutual arrangement is expected to be signed in early March 2023,” says the government in their press release.
The four countries have agreed that consultations will be started in February 2023 on the loans expiring on 10 October 2023 from the countries to the Netherlands that were provided during the corona crisis.
In addition, the state of affairs with regard to the dispute settlement procedure was discussed. The Countries await the positions of the Parliaments and the House of Representatives. The theme of democratic deficit and a possible follow-up to the implementation of the Van Raak motion were also discussed. In this context, the countries have agreed to organize a Kingdom Conference.