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“Versgeperst.com” writes about independence and cooperation as mentioned in the “Troonrede” of Willem Alexander.In the first Speech from the Throne of King Willem – Alexander, the need for economic cooperation in the Kingdom is emphasized: ” It contributes [ … ] to the necessary financial independence and stability of the Caribbean [ … ] ” . That Writes Caribbean Network .
This focus on collaboration and independence is also reflected in the budget of Kingdom Relations .
Cooperation on the basis of equality
The call for cooperation on the basis of equality in the Kingdom from the Dutch policy is clearly reflected in the budget of Kingdom Relations. The amount for ( inter)national cooperation programs fell from more than 58.2 million in 2012 to 6.6 million in 2014 . The cooperation policy of the last years, will be largely completed and evaluated in the next few years. This is the money that is managed by among others the recently – discredited – Development Foundation Netherlands Antilles ( SONA ) and Foundation Antillean Co-Financing Organisation ( AMFO ) .
Standing on own legs
The new countries Curaçao and Sint Maarten and Aruba have to fend for themselves as much as possible . The Netherlands however will hold a watchful eye on the finances through the Financial Supervision and law enforcement. The Netherlands has also continued attention to ‘ (administrative ) integrity , a good judicial system and financial and economic soundness in all countries of the Kingdom . ” In 2014 the budget is for Kingdom Relations 257 million (which was 291 million in 2013 ) .
BES islands
For the public bodies Bonaire , Saba and St. Eustatius , the evaluation, that will take place in the course of 2014, is an important tool to investigate the impact of the constitutional reform in 2010 as was emphasized in the annual budget. On this basis, the ” final administrative shape” of the islands should be fixed and should be seen whether all new laws and regulations on the islands are effective . In the BES Fund , the pot of money where the islands can decide where to spend it themselves is 33 million (which was 34 million in 2014 ) .
Division of property
The budget shows that the liquidation of the estate of the former country Netherlands Antilles is delayed. End of 2013 will be decided when everything should be divided between the Netherlands , Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
