New cabinet is stricter on equal laws in BES

Dutch State Secretary Eric van der Burg of Kingdom Relations and Decisive Government is closely monitoring the implementation of equal legislation in the European and Caribbean Netherlands, the well-known “comply or explain” principle. “Some­times there are also good reasons for an exception. (,..) But the basic principle is that we will be more strict about this,” the VVD state secretary said in a debate with the Second Chamber of Parliament (House of Rep­resentatives) Committee for Digital Affairs.

“We have very emphatically reiterated in the coalition agreement what has already been said in the past: comply or explain. Or, in plain Eng­lish: implement or explain. In my opinion, that is also the basic principle when it conies to the Caribbean Netherlands. This is broader than digitalisation. It simply applies in general,” Van der Burg said during his first de­bate as state secretary.

The question was posed by GroenLinks-PvdA mem­ber Barbara Kathmann. Previous governments also promised as much equal legislation as possible in the Caribbean and European Netherlands, but in practice, this has been disappointing, said Kathmann.

Laws in Bonaire, St. Eu­statius and Saba (so-called BES) are often different, without a proper explana­tion of why an exception is necessary. “What will this State Secretary do differ­ently to make it work now?” she asked.

Van der Burg replied that he will actively inform the other 27 ministers and state secretaries about the appli­cation of comply or explain. It means be that annoying little man in the cabinet who will ask these questions about all legislation,” he said.

If an exception is made for the islands, it must also be fair and explained, he added. The state secretary asked the legislature to keep him on his toes on this point.

Within the new incoming D66/VVD/CDA govern­ment, State Secretary Wil­lemijn Aerdts of Economic Affairs is responsible for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty portfolio. But digitalisation also intersects with the Ministries of Jus­tice and Security, as well as Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK. For this rea­son, Van der Burg was also present.

Government has allocated 4 million euros for digi­tisation in the. Caribbean Netherlands. The money is intended to modernise fixed networks on the three islands. In the longer term, adjustments to telecom legislation will also be con­sidered, Van der Burg con­cluded.

Aerdts, for her part, said the Caribbean part of the Kingdom must become less vulnerable and dependent on digital resources, but a solution requires careful re­search and sound choices. The DM state secretary wel­comed two motions for ad­ditional research. The topic was raised by several parliamentarians.

When we talk about digi­tal autonomy and digital security, we often talk about the Netherlands, but not explicitly about the Carib­bean part of the Kingdom, even though they are per­haps even more vulnerable there. (…) How will the gov­ernment also strengthen the digital autonomy of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom?” asked SP faction member Sandra Beckerman.

D66 member Sarah El Bou­jdaini submitted a motion calling for an exploration of how the digital sovereignty of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can be strength­ened. JA21 Member of Par­liament also Daniel van den Berg submitted a motion to accelerate the construction of a transatlantic subma­rine cable, while Kathman referred to an older mo­tion concerning a feasibil­ity study for the submarine cable. between the European and Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.

Aerdts stated that several initiatives are underway to reduce the vulnerability of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Last year the Ministry of Economic Af­fairs commissioned research into the submarine cable connections. The European Commission (EC) is cur­rently investigating ways to reduce the Caribbean’s de­pendency. The conclusions will be published at the end of this year.

“We also see this as im­portant input for the feasi­bility study that I intend to conduct on the transatlantic cable between the European and Caribbean Netherlands, as requested in Ms. Kath­man’s motion. The con­struction of these submarine cables involves significant sums of money. Therefore, it truly requires a careful process and sound decisions on our part,” said Aerdts. The state secretary re­sponded positively to the two new motions from D66 and JA21. She emphasized, however, that she wants to await the EC’s investigation. That will be at the end of this year, and I really need that to be able to take fur­ther steps.”

The Daily Herald.