WILLEMSTAD – Ongoing disagreements between Curaçao and Sint Maarten over the governance of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten continue to highlight structural challenges within the institution’s supervisory framework.
The issue centers on the appointment of members of the bank’s supervisory board, particularly the position of chairman. According to the government of Curaçao, the current governance structure has repeatedly led to political stalemates between the two countries.
Since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have shared a single central bank responsible for monetary policy and financial supervision.
However, the appointment of board members has often proven difficult because decisions require agreement between both governments. When consensus cannot be reached, the responsibility for appointing commissioners has sometimes fallen to the president of the Joint Court of Justice.
According to officials in Willemstad, this situation has occurred multiple times over the past decade, demonstrating the fragility of the existing governance model.
The latest tensions surfaced after discussions about the nomination of a new chairman of the bank’s supervisory board. Curaçao maintains that appointments must follow the procedures outlined in the bank’s statutes, which require that candidates first be recommended by the supervisory board itself before finance ministers from both countries make a final decision.
The ongoing debate illustrates the broader challenges facing joint institutions within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where cooperation between countries with different political and economic interests remains essential for stable governance.