Representatives of the four countries of the Kingdom during the press conference on Friday (from left): Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen, St. Maarten Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, Aruba Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes and Curaçao Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas. (Suzanne Koelega photo)
~ Countries agree to move forward together ~
PHILIPSBURG--The Kingdom Law to establish the Caribbean Body for Reform and Development COHO is off the table, a fact that Prime Ministers Silveria Jacobs of St. Maarten, Evelyn Wever-Croes of Aruba and Gilmar Pisas of Curaçao happily announced at the end of the four-country consultation in St. Maarten on Friday. The decision to ditch the initial Kingdom Law COHO is supported by the Netherlands.
The three Dutch Caribbean countries and the Netherlands, represented by State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen, deliberated on kingdom-related topics, including the controversial COHO law proposal, for two full days on Thursday and Friday.
During the so-called Ministerial Consultation Quadripartite Meeting held at Sonesta Maho Resort, the four countries arrived at a principal agreement that the Kingdom Law proposal COHO will be replaced by a proposal drafted by the Dutch Caribbean countries which is based on the format of a mutual regulation (“onderlinge regeling”).
“We have been successful in reaching an outline agreement on a mutual regulation which will replace the proposed Kingdom Law COHO,” said Jacobs on behalf of the four countries. She announced that this agreement would be further worked out with the signing of the mutual regulation anticipated for early March this year.
In this mutual regulation, the countries will agree to work together as equal partners to implement the reforms that are defined in the country packages, and the Temporary Work Organisation (TWO) will stay on to support the implementation of the reforms.
Based on equality
“Over the past two days, we have had constructive discussions on the manner in which we wish to cooperate in the kingdom, a cooperation that is based on equality, ownership and mutual trust, which corresponds with the way we view our common future – a cooperation that should lead to the implementation of reforms that contribute to the resilience and sustainable development of the countries,” Jacobs said.
Reading the joint statement at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Jacobs said that the positions of the four countries in the Kingdom were shared in a transparent and open atmosphere. Her colleagues Pisas and Wever-Croes, and State Secretary Van Huffelen confirmed this in their respective statements.
“We are very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. We close off on a positive note. The COHO is definitely off the table. Once we sign the agreement for a mutual regulation in March, we can end the intensive discussions. This meeting again showed that together we can achieve a lot,” said Wever-Croes.
“We can share big news that the COHO is gone. This is an emotional moment for Curaçao. We were attacked and criticised as Curaçao government. Heated discussions in Parliament in March 2022 made clear that we had to do things differently and so, together as Caribbean countries, we came up with an alternative. I am very proud of what we have accomplished: a mutual regulation that is based on the support of us all,” said Pisas.
Good atmosphere
“We had very good and intense discussions, in a warm setting and a good atmosphere. We agreed on how we will move forward, how we are going to work together – a cooperation based on mutual trust, equity and ownership, a cooperation that should not only lead to decisions, but also to a feeling and trust that we need to move forward. Based on the discussions today and yesterday, we have designed a clear path to do so,” said Van Huffelen.
She said she was content with the agreement on a mutual regulation to continue working on the reforms that are necessary to make the countries more resilient. She did not see this agreement as a loss of face, because from the onset the idea was to implement the reforms together.
Huge step
“We agreed that these reforms are at the centre of what we are going to work on together, in terms of capacity-sharing, people, but also financial support. I truly believe that doing so together in the interest of the people is a huge step forward. It is important that we now came to an agreement that has the support of all countries. We can put to rest a discussion and focus on moving forward,” said Van Huffelen.
“We want to look at the future which is not only based on challenges, but also on opportunities and optimism, with collaboration as a basis. There is economic recovery which offers new opportunities for development and investments which in turn benefit the islands. We will continue strengthening the climate for entrepreneurship, education, the transition to the labour market, affordable healthcare and reforming the fiscal system.”
A win
“Today is a win for the countries that have been striving for equality, for equity within the kingdom and for growing mutual agreements based on trust. I think that this kingdom that we have now is far improved from the kingdom two years ago, and that has been the goal,” said Jacobs in her separate statement as prime minister.
“We have started something today that will lead to future mutual agreements that in turn will lead to stronger countries in a time when we are still in development and when much assistance is needed. But we must also be able to feel that we can rely on our Kingdom partners without feeling that the old colonial discussion is still happening.”
Pandemic loans
The four countries further agreed that in February this year, consultations will start on the loans that the Dutch government provided to the Dutch Caribbean countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The repayment of these loans was originally due on October 10 this year.
Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten are hoping that the Netherlands will be willing to refinance these loans. “This is an important topic for Aruba, as we have to pay back 900 million Aruban florins,” said Wever-Croes.
Pisas said it was cardinal to reach an agreement to refinance these loans before they lapsed.
Jacobs said she hoped the talks about the debts the countries have accrued would take place in the same manner, with mutual respect and understanding for the realities the countries are facing.
The four countries further discussed the status of the Dispute Regulation (“Geschillenregeling”) and agreed to wait for the positions of the four Parliaments in the Kingdom on this matter that has been pending for a long time. The parliaments will come together in the Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom IPKO in March this year.
Kingdom conference
The three prime ministers and state secretary also discussed the topic of the democratic deficit and the relations in the kingdom. The countries agreed to hold a Kingdom Conference to further deliberate on these matters of mutual interest. A timeframe for this Kingdom Conference will be set at the continued deliberations in February, said Jacobs.
“It is important to keep talking, to keep reaching mutual agreements on every topic we have, and to have the flexibility among us to get more results,” said Pisas, who mentioned these as benefits of holding a Kingdom Conference on a regular basis.
