One would become almost reluctant to applaud positive developments in relations with the Netherlands, because something usually goes wrong soon afterwards. However, talks on amending the controversial Kingdom Consensus Law to establish a Caribbean Body for Reform and Development COHO seem to be going well.

Two of the three remaining issues regarding the choosing of COHO’s executive board members and the instruction authority for the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK were apparently agreed on. Respectively including Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten on not only the appointment, but also the selection committee for candidates and limiting instructions to supervising execution of “country packages” with restructuring measures as condition for liquidity support had been among the compromises discussed.

The third point, sufficiently considering basic needs on the islands when providing financial assistance along with building a reserve was sent back to the technical level and The Hague has now reportedly expressed a willingness to resolve this matter too. That’s good news for both the public and private sectors that have come to depend heavily on soft loans granted by the Netherlands due to this still-ongoing unprecedented coronavirus-related socioeconomic crisis. Make no mistake, until the dominant tourism industry sufficiently recovers, that will remain the order of the day.