Saturday’s commemoration of the Treaty of Concordia signing anniversary (see Monday paper) was important for several reasons. To start, it served as reminder of the special ties between the Dutch and French sides.
It’s an unusual circumstance particularly for such a small island shared by two nations, but with freedom of movement of people and goods between them. This peaceful co-existence has endured almost four centuries despite many challenges up to now.
After all, while the Kingdom of Netherlands and Republic of France are both European Union (EU) members, their rules and regulations are not necessarily completely the same, nor are those of the respective local governments in Philipsburg and Marigot. Nevertheless, residents and visitors still freely go back and forth.
Companies on either side do business across the open border too, while many persons on the island live and work in two different countries, commuting the short distance on a day-to-day basis. Maintaining this situation is not always easy, as several incidents over the years have shown, but the people consider themselves one and simply wouldn’t have it any other way.
Whether it’s issues in the past like law enforcement authorities being unable to act effectively against crime on each other’s territories or the continued border dispute at Oyster Pond, such differences may never be allowed to negatively impact the historic relationship that to a large extent makes “The Friendly Island” what it is today. This is something everyone in relevant decision-making positions also in The Hague and Paris needs to always remember.
Whatever quarrel arises must therefore be solved in such a manner that the spirit of the treaty is in principle respected and honoured. The 371-year-old document that has withstood the test of time deserves no less.
