The Dutch Senate has postponed its vote on the Kingdom Relations and BES (Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba) Fund budget by another week, opting against fast-tracking the proposal. The vote is now ex­pected to take place next week.

State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Zsolt Szabo of the far-right Party for Freedom PVV assured senators that the proposed 800,000-euro reduction in administra­tive costs for the Slavery Fund would not affect project funding. He pledged to cover any shortfall from other budget lines if necessary.

Szabo’s remarks came in response to repeated question­ing from Senator Peter Nicola of the Party for the Ani­mals PvdD.

Senator Boris Dittrich, representing Democrats ’66 (D66), also sought clarification on whether the budget cut would impact grant applications for the Slavery Fund. Szabo confirmed that applications would continue as planned.

The delay means that the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK cannot yet access funds ear­marked for Saba’s port development and road projects in Bonaire. However, the budget is still expected to pass when the Senate votes next week.

The Daily Herald.