— Kingdom Canon to be discussed —

All ten motions regarding the Caribbean parts of the kingdom were passed by the Dutch Second Chamber of Parlia­ment on Tuesday. Eight of those were signed by Member of Par­liament (MP) Jorien Wuite from D66, a representative with a Ca­ribbean background who won’t be returning to the Second Chamber after the November 22 elections.

A majority of MPs supported a motion by MPs Wuite and Don Ceder (CU), in which they re­quest the Dutch government to speak to the governments of Cu­racao, Aruba and St. Maarten about establishing a “Kingdom Canon.” This canon would func­tion as a body of history that would include important events in the shared history of the kingdom.

During last week’s Draft Budget debate, Caretaker State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Alexan­dra van Huffelen said she would be happy to discuss such a canon with the countries. The motion received support from all parties except PVV, FvD and JA21. The Second Chamber also supported the 2024 King­dom Relations Budget. Only the FvD and PvdD voted against the budget. The motion by MPs Su­zanne Kroger (Groen­Links), Ceder and Wuite which requests the Dutch government to provide suf­ficient resources for a cli­mate adaptation plan for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and an overview of available international cli­mate funding for the coun­tries also passed.

MPs Kröger, Ceder and Wuite also requested that the Dutch government look into a Regional Develop­ment Company that focuss­es on local business devel­opment in terms of digiti­sation, climate, sustainable agriculture and a favorable investment climate.

The motion by MPs Wuite and Ceder requesting a so­lution for residents of St. Eustatius and Saba who have little income yet are forced to pay a high rent due to a lack of social hous­ing also gained majority support.

MPs Wuite and Ceder also received support for their motion requesting more discussions about the Pub­lic Service Obligation for the flights to and from Saba and St. Eustatius.

The Second Chamber also voted for MP Wuite’s mo­tions for a Caribbean youth representative in the Dutch National Youth Council and an evaluation of the Monu­ment Law for St. Eustatius. Both motions passed.

MP Joba van den Berg’s (CDA) motion to consider lifestyle diseases and health issues such as dementia in the context of the social minimum report passed too.

The motion by MPs van den Berg, Ceder, Wuite and Roelien Kamminga (VVD) requesting the Dutch gov­ernment come with a pro­posal to strengthen the coordinating role of the Dutch Minister of Interior Relations and Kingdom Relations when it comes to kingdom expenses also gained support from a ma­jority and passed.

The Daily Herald.