Different EU statuses in
Kingdom are undesirable
THE HAGUE-- Diverse relations of the Antillean islands and Aruba with the European Union (EU) are undesirable within the Dutch Kingdom, according to The Hague.
Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten stated this in her answer to a question from the Permanent Committee for Antillean and Aruban Affairs NAAZ of Dutch Parliament.
Parliament wanted to know whether it was desirable for some islands to have an Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) relation with the EU, while other islands would opt to become an Ultra Peripheral Territory (UPT) of the EU. The question was asked in the context of the unity within the Dutch Kingdom. Parliament asked whether diverse relations could lead to complications. NAAZ recently submitted 64 questions to the Dutch Government regarding the draft 2009 budget of Kingdom Relations.
Bijleveld-Schouten explained that legally the island territories of the Netherlands Antilles and/or Aruba can opt for different relations with the EU, UPT or OCT status. The difficulty is that a (new) EU “outside border” would be created when one or more islands become a UPT while others remain an OCT.
Different statuses would also mean a big difference in laws that are applied. This has to do with the fact that EU rules and regulations don’t apply to an OCT. They do apply, however, to a UPT, which in fact means that the territory becomes a part of mainland Europe.
According to Bijleveld-Schouten, the difference in applicable laws will be a complicating factor for the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, but it will also make things more difficult where it concerns the cooperation between the island territories.
Though the European ‘outside border’ between the islands will not be a Schengen border, meaning an open border between the EU member states, the boundary will have drastic implications for the traffic of persons and of goods, stated Bijleveld-Schouten. Travelling between the islands with a UPT and OCT status will become more difficult and the mutual trade will be negatively affected as well. “This is not desirable for the unity within the Kingdom,” she concluded.
