December 15
not feasible
~ State Secretary reports to Dutch Second Chamber ~
PHILIPSBURG--The date on which constitutional change of the Netherlands Antilles will go into effect will definitely be postponed. State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten stated in a March 31 letter to the Dutch Second Chamber that the December 15 target date wouldn’t be feasible.
The three areas of upholding the law/administration of justice/constitutional affairs, public finances and the transition of the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are so far behind schedule that it’s certain that these processes will not be finalised in time.
Other areas of the process such as constructing country Curaçao, constructing country St. Maarten, dismantling the Netherlands Antilles, relationship with the European Union and the cooperation of Aruba also are in danger of falling far behind schedule. Only one area is ahead of schedule: the support of the Lt. Governors.
The State Secretary arrived in Curaçao on Tuesday for a two-day working visit. “I will discuss what we have to do in the coming period. We have not progressed enough in certain areas to make December 15 feasible,” she said in an interview with Dutch World Radio before leaving the Netherlands.
Examples the State Secretary gave of areas that were behind schedule were the laws for police and the Prosecutor’s Office. “They have to go to the Council of State, the Second Chamber and the First Chamber. It makes you realise that it’s simply not feasible.”
According to her, parties held on to the December 15 date for so long because it was important to have a target date to work towards: “That keeps the pressure on matters.”
Also, now that the target date has been taken off the table, she persists in finishing as much as possible by December this year. “Then you have created a nice momentum and you know that the process has become irrevocable,” she said.
The State Secretary stated furthermore that that it was a complicated process to dismantle a country, create two new countries (Curaçao and St. Maarten) and place three islands under direct rule.
Care is more important than speed, the Dutch Second Chamber and the State Secretary have always advocated. “That’s why letting go of the date is nothing serious. You just have to do it. The new status can only go into effect when the legislation has been taken care of,” she said.
She would not make any comments about a new target date, stating that the direction group that had been assessing the different projects would bring out an advice based on which a political decision would be taken in May.
Bijleveld-Schouten’s report to the Second Chamber stated as general risk that several trajectories could not be completed by the end of the year. This means that as of December 15 the islands will not comply with criteria set and agreements made in the areas of upholding the law and administration of justice, public finances and good governance.
The timeline needs to be adjusted. The risk is that the discussion on the date for the new statuses to go into effect will hamper the progress of the process content-wise.
Measures suggested are that currently joint efforts are being made to come up with realistic planning based on plans being drawn up by relevant entities and project groups. This topic will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the political steering group. Meanwhile, the several project groups will work on their assignments.
Risks stated in the report for the areas of upholding the law, administration of justice and constitutional affairs are that due to the delay in the negotiations on these areas it will not be possible to finalise the negotiations before December 15.
Measures that have been taken are that experts are making an analysis of the situation that will be the basis for the points of departure for the Consensus Kingdom Law for the police. The analysis will also serve as a discussion note for the concrete improvement plans for the three police forces of the Netherlands Antilles.
Regarding the Consensus Kingdom Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, political agreements were reached on February 16. Certain topics in the text and explanatory note of the law are still being discussed, based on the political agreements made.
Furthermore, the State Secretary stated in her report that the risk for the area of public finances was that due to the delay in the discussions on a Kingdom Resolution containing General Enactment of Financial Supervision for the Central Government, Curaçao and St. Maarten, the finalisation and implementation of the Consensus Kingdom Law Financial Supervision, Government Credit Bank and financial norms would no longer be feasible by December 15.
The proposed measure is that the text of the Kingdom Resolution containing General Measures will be used as the basis for the Consensus Kingdom law. This way the delay can somewhat be restricted.
Regarding the transition for the BES islands to become public entities of the Netherlands, the risk indicated by Bijleveld-Schouten was that because of the many different laws and measures that needed to be implemented in combination with the restricted “absorption capacity” of the BES islands, a quick transition to the new constitutional status would be jeopardised. This will mean that it can take longer before visible improvements can be realised.
The measures proposed were that through prioritising it will be guaranteed that the most essential topics will be regulated by changing the Charter of the Kingdom. The Netherlands will strive for a phased build-up of the public entities in close collaboration with the Central Government and the islands, and will gradually take over the tasks of the Central Government anticipating the formal change of the Charter of the Kingdom.
Pertaining to the construction of Countries St. Maarten and Curaçao, the risks involved are that the legislation and plans for countries Curaçao and St. Maarten will not be implemented in time, meaning that the islands won’t be able to comply with all the criteria agreed to attain country status by December 15.
The measure the State Secretary suggested was to keep stressing to Curaçao and St. Maarten the necessary progress to be made and the importance of executing the agreements in a responsible manner. Execution that complies with the criteria is an essential part of the agreements made in the Round Table Conference; if that is not regulated, the new status cannot go into effect.
Finally, Bijleveld-Schouten stated in her report that the risks with the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles were that the process was complicated. This goes for the conditions of St. Maarten and Curaçao becoming countries as well as the BES islands attaining the status of public entities.
However, she pointed out that that the dismantling process had been accelerating. Six of the eight Ministerial workgroups have delivered their transition documents.
Measures to help with the process, she said, were that the Netherlands participating in the expert groups and mixed workgroups will give the Dutch information on the progress being made and the Netherlands can make its point of view known. The mission will be proper prioritising and guarding Dutch interests in connection with the Netherlands being the legal successor on behalf of the BES islands.
