The Dutch Second Chamber of Parlia­ment on Tuesday adopted two motions for the Ca­ribbean Netherlands. One concerned the incidental versus structural funding and the other was about new legislation for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba to tackle sexual violence and transgressing behaviour.

Member of Parliament (MP) Joba van den Berg of the Christian Democratic Party CDA last week Tues­day submitted a motion about the imbalance be­tween the structural financ­ing for Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba by means of the free allowance and the incidental, project-based funding by the individual ministries.

Van den Berg did so dur­ing a debate of the Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations with State Secre­tary for Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van Huffelen about the 2022 annual report of King­dom Relations and the BES Fund. The motion was co­signed by MP Jorien Wuite of the Democratic Party D66.

The motion of Van den Berg and Wuite asked the Dutch government to in­corporate the results of an investigation of the free allowance into the 2025 budget. It also requested government to draft a plan of approach to get an over­view of the special allow­ances and how to turn this incidental funding into a structural format.

A large majority of the Second Chamber on Tues­day voted in favour of the motion of Van den Berg and Wuite. State Secretary Van Huffelen had not ad­vised against the motion. In the motion it was stated that a stronger coordinat­ing role for the state secre­tary would result in better balancing of planning and budgeting.

The Second Chamber also adopted with broad sup­port a motion that MP Mir-jam Bikker of the Chris­tianUnion, co-signed by MP Hanneke van der Werf of D66, submitted during a debate with Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Ye ilgoz-Zegerius last week Wednesday.

Parliament during the vot­ing on Tuesday made clear that it agreed with Bikker and Van der Werf that Min­ister Ye ilgoz-Zegerius had to make haste with adapt­ing legislation for the Ca­ribbean Netherlands that tackles sexual violence and transgressing behaviour.

The motion asked the Dutch government to adapt the sexual offence legisla­tion, in consultation with the Caribbean Nether­lands, and to draft a broad approach to tackle trans­gressing behaviour and sex­ual violence for the islands in line with the National Action Programme of the Netherlands.

MP Bikker also requested in the motion to offer sup­port to Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten, if desired, in drafting further penal and social measures to prevent transgressing behaviour and sexual violence. Min­ister Ye ilgoz-Zegerius did not object to the motion.

The Daily Herald.