THE HAGUE – The Dutch Council of Ministers has approved the draft 2027 budget for Kingdom Relations and the BES Fund, setting the stage for decisions that could have financial consequences for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, as well as Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten.
The draft budget will first be submitted to the Council of State for advice. The details will remain confidential until Prinsjesdag on September 15, when the Dutch government presents its annual budget memorandum and the individual ministry budgets.
For Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, particular attention will be paid to how the government intends to distribute the €30 million pledged when the current Dutch Cabinet took office to strengthen livelihood security on the three Caribbean Netherlands islands.
The budget could also provide an indication of whether the Netherlands intends to continue its cooperation with Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten under the so-called Landspakketten, or Country Packages.
The existing mutual arrangements governing that cooperation are approaching their expiration dates. If the Dutch government intends to extend them, funding could be included in the 2027 budget for the continued operation of the Temporary Work Organization, known by its Dutch abbreviation TWO.
The TWO supports Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten with the implementation of reforms agreed upon in the Country Packages. Those reform programs emerged from agreements between the Netherlands and the Caribbean countries following the financial assistance provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The publication of the budget on September 15 will therefore be closely watched in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, both for the distribution of additional funds to the BES islands and for indications about the future of Dutch-supported reform programs in Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten.