Agreements as a result of the governmental meeting on BES financial relationships of June 19, 2014

Multi-annual program

• In the CN-week a multi-annual program for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba was discussed for the first time with the public entities. It was agreed that a multi-annual program will be developed with the islands in the next few months that can be supported by the National Government and Island Governments. Final decision making on this will take place next year.

Free allowance

• There will be a study of the level of the free allowance. For example,changed population numbers have not been taken into account in thefree allowance.

• An update is also needed of the reference framework study on the situation in 2014. Regulations and ambitions have changed since 2011 (the base of the current free allowance). Also, insular backlogs were addressed – often with national government funds–, but there was limited consideration of the (higher) structural (maintenance) costs.

Promoting economy and social

• A total of 1.4 million Euros (cumulatively) will be made available by the Ministry of the Interior (from the remaining SONA/AMFO funds) for economic development for the three public entities.

• In addition to the funds of 5.3 million Euros (cumulatively) already made available by VWS,SZWenW&Rfor the integrated approach to social economic issues, the Ministry of the Interior will make additional funds available for social issues amounting to 2 million Euros(cumulatively).

• The Cabinet and the Executive Council of Bonaire embrace the vision for downtown Kralendijk. The Cabinet is prepared to consider under which conditions the buildings required where public servants are currently housed can be involved in this vision. There will be new agreements to realize a new administrative building. The Government Buildings Agency will, in consultation with island authorities, realize this new construction. This will allow the island government to perform its tasks better and more efficiently. The potential savings at the public entities will be used by the islands to combat the social-economic issues.

• There will be a new administrative building in St. Eustatius for both national government officials and insular officials. During the governmental meeting on financial relationships, the Minister of the Interior and the Executive Council of St. Eustatius signed an agreement on this matter.

As of today, PUMNetherlandsseniorexperts(“Programma UitzendingManagers”)is available for entrepreneurs and governments in Bonaire, St.EustatiusandSaba.The Ministry of the Interior will cover the overhead costs of this organization.

Read the actual decisions of the meeting ( in Dutch).

The decisions in English:

THE DELEGATIONS OF BONAIRE, SINT EUSTATIUS, SABA AND THE NETHERLANDS

Considering:

1. The agreements made in the “Final Declaration of the Mini-conference on the future constitutional position of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba” in October of 2006 about evaluating the realization of the new constitutional structure by the Netherlands and the three islands together.

2. The advice by the Council of State, in its administering of information on February 4^th, 2014 (No.W04.13.0319/I/Vo/B), regarding the evaluation of the constitutional structure of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

3. The public entities are co-instructors of the evaluation as agreed upon in the governmental consultation of the CN week in March 2013.

4. The agreement in the governmental consultation March 14^th, 2013, which stipulates that the results of the evaluation will be respected and will serve as a basis for further improvements of the situation in the Caribbean Netherlands.

5. The agreement after the governmental consultation of October 31^st, 2013 to institute a workgroup together having the task to formulate the evaluation assignment.

Have agreed (that):

1. The evaluation assignment (in annex), edited by the workgroup consisting of the commissioners of Constitutional Affairs of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and the island secretaries, the SG of BZK or replacement as the president of the CN-table, the project leader and the secretary of the project Evaluation Caribbean Netherlands, has been adopted by the representatives of the executive councils of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and the minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations.

2. To institute an independent evaluation committee consisting of 5 members. The evaluation committee will be instituted by means of an institution decree of the minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations, in agreement with the executive councils of the public entities Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

3. The assignment of people to the evaluation committee will be done in further consultation between the minister of BZK and the executive councils.
4. The aforementioned workgroup will be transformed, to favor the execution of the evaluation, into an organ of consultation for the instructors to aid the evaluation (committee).

5. The executive councils and the minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations reconfirm the agreement from the governmental consultation of March 14^th, 2013, which states that the results of the evaluation will be respected.

 

6. The decision making after the evaluation will reach its completion in a cabinet standpoint to be formulated based on the final report by the evaluation committee after consulting the three islands.

The Hague, June 19^th, 2014

 

On behalf of Bonaire,	On behalf of Sint Eustatius,
E. S. Winklaar	R. C. Zaandam
On behalf of Saba,	On behalf of the Netherlands,
C.S.B. Johnson	R.H.A. Plasterk

 

Source: Press release RCN, Junw 19, 2014