This week’s collapse of the Dutch cabinet raised some concern in Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten about the future of cooperation agreements with the Netherlands. Political crises in The Hague tend to generate uncertainty on the islands.
One example is the 150 million euros pledged by outgoing Minister for Climate and Green Growth Sophie Hermans during her recent visit to Curaçao. The money is intended to support energy transition in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
Some are questioning whether this promise will be upheld by the next government, or whether the allocation may be revised. After all, a similar situation occurred during the formation of the current Schoof cabinet.
Under the previous Rutte IV government, 130 million euros had been earmarked for island projects through the National Growth Fund. After the cabinet transition, however, 50 million euros was cut from that amount, with the remaining 80 million rebranded as “new investment,” a move widely criticised on the islands as simply repackaging existing funds.
Meanwhile, St. Maarten Prime Luc Mercelina confirmed (see Thursday newspaper) that the position previously held by State Secretary Zsolt Szabó has been reassigned to newly-appointed Minister Judith Uitermark. She is now holding the portfolio of Digitalisation and Kingdom Relations.
He assured the public that St. Maarten’s government remains focused on protecting the country’s interests by ensuring continuity in key bilateral matters and steadfast in ensuring that kingdom-level participation, especially concerning the Trust Fund, disaster recovery and sustainable financing, continues uninterrupted.
As the prime minister said, kingdom relations should be entered in partnership, mutual respect and shared responsibility, regardless of who is in office.
