THE HAGUE – Curaçao has been formally removed from a Kingdom of the Netherlands supervision arrangement established following the constitutional reforms of October 10, 2010. The decision follows the completion of all government improvement plans that Curaçao was required to implement under the arrangement.
The change was formalized through a Royal Decree signed by King Willem-Alexander on July 9, 2026, and published in the Dutch Official Gazette on July 15.
The decree amends the Cooperation Arrangement for Safeguarding Plans of Action for Government Tasks in Curaçao and Sint Maarten, removing Curaçao from the framework while maintaining supervision of outstanding government reforms in Sint Maarten.
According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the decree, all action plans established for Curaçao have now been completed, making the continued application of the arrangement unnecessary.
The decision marks the conclusion of a supervisory process that originated when Curaçao became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010.
Before that constitutional transition, several government responsibilities were administered at the level of the Netherlands Antilles.
Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao and Sint Maarten became responsible for carrying out those functions independently.
However, authorities recognized that certain government institutions and administrative responsibilities could not immediately operate at the required level.
To address these challenges, the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten established a cooperation arrangement requiring specific action plans to strengthen the affected government functions.
The plans were intended to ensure that the newly autonomous countries could eventually perform their responsibilities independently and in accordance with agreed standards.
Progress was monitored through designated oversight mechanisms and consultations between the governments involved.
The Dutch government now confirms that Curaçao has completed all the action plans established under this framework.
As a result, references to Curaçao, its prime minister, and its former progress monitoring committee have been removed from the arrangement.
The changes were made with the agreement of the Curaçao government.
The decree also confirms that the supervision arrangement remains applicable to Sint Maarten, where several improvement plans are still outstanding.
The removal of Curaçao is significant because it formally closes a chapter in the island's post-2010 institutional development.
It recognizes that the specific government responsibilities covered by the original cooperation arrangement have reached the stage at which the agreed action plans are considered completed.
However, the decision should not be interpreted as the elimination of every form of Kingdom oversight or cooperation involving Curaçao.
The decree concerns a particular arrangement established to support the transfer and development of government responsibilities following the constitutional transition.
Other constitutional, financial, and administrative arrangements within the Kingdom remain separate from this decision.
The Royal Decree entered into force on July 16, 2026, one day after its publication.
For Curaçao, the measure represents the formal conclusion of the improvement program associated with the government functions identified during the transition to autonomous country status.
The development also illustrates the different stages reached by Curaçao and Sint Maarten since both countries obtained their new constitutional status in 2010.