MPs debate what equality should mean for Caribbean

The ques­tion of whether residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are treated equally to residents of the European Netherlands was a central theme during a Tweede Kam­er (House of Representatives) debate on the Canbbean part of the Kingdom.

Member of Parliament (MP) Mikal Tseggai of the PRO party, a merger of the Groen­Links and PvdA parties, said that 16 years after the con­stitutional changes of Octo­ber 10, 2010, there remains a fundamental difference in livelihood security between the Caribbean and European Netherlands. She argued that differences in geography, scale and circumstances do not justify structural differenc­es in access to basic services.

The D66 party has strong views on education and eco­nomic sustainability. D66 MP Heera Dijk said the Nether­lands has a signalling and co­ordinating role in Caribbean affairs and acknowledged that the government does not control every relevant budget. She said the question of live­lihood security involves both increasing income and reduc­ing costs and argued that the latter requires closer coopera­tion with the islands.

The CDA, a Christian democratic party, is in coali­lion with D66 and the VVD. CDA MP Tijs van den Brink said residents of the Carib­bean Netherlands are being treated increasingly equally but acknowledged that the differences between the is­lands and the European Netherlands make full equal­ity difficult.

The debate also touched on representation, infrastruc­ture, climate protection, ac­cess to services and the in­volvement of island govern­ments in decisions made in The Hague. The MPs were due to hear State Secretary Eric van der Burg’s response in the second round of the debate.

The Daily Herald.