Lawmakers Discuss Breaking Up The Netherland Antilles

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

23 December 2004

The Dutch cabinet is willing to discuss the breaking up of the Netherland Antilles into separate entities provided that certain conditions are met after the dissolution of the Central Government, it has emerged.

According to a statement released after a recent meeting of the Council of Ministers, the new constitutional arrangement must guarantee the quality of the judicial system, sound governance and responsible financial management.

These conclusions dovetail with those of the committee established by Kingdom Relations Minister Thomas de Graff, who has called for autonomy for the islands that make up the Netherland Antilles.

This committee, chaired by Edsel Jesurun, concluded that the Central Government should be dismantled, and that the territories of Curcao and St Maarten should become autonomous countries within the Kingdom, along similar lines to Aruba.

The report also recommended that Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba become semi-independent, although with more direct ties to The Hague.

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Tags: Curaçao

 






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