THE HAGUE--The Dutch government is pushing for St. Maarten and the other Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) within the Kingdom to gain broader and easier access to European Union funding under the EU’s next long-term budget covering 2028-2034.
State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations Eric van der Burg informed the Dutch House of Representatives that the Netherlands is using ongoing negotiations on the new Overseas Association Decision and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to strengthen the position of the OCTs within the European Union.
The Dutch approach includes emphasizing the strategic importance of the OCTs and the European Union’s presence in the Caribbean, creating separate funding opportunities for Sub-National Island Jurisdictions and making it easier for the territories to access EU-wide funding programs through application and reporting requirements better suited to their size and capacity.
The Netherlands is coordinating its position with the OCTs themselves and, where possible, with other EU member states that have overseas territories, including France and Denmark.
One development already secured in the negotiating position concerns access to the EU’s Global Europe funding structure. The Netherlands said the upcoming financial framework now includes language that could allow OCTs to access funding for regional and trans-regional projects from a broader range of geographic funding envelopes.
Under the European Commission’s original proposal, OCTs would have been limited largely to the global funding envelope, representing approximately six percent of Global Europe resources.
The Dutch government cautioned that the wider access is not yet final, as negotiations on the overall 2028-2034 EU budget remain underway and no individual element is considered settled until agreement is reached on the complete package.
Maritime, Digital, Energy and Waste Projects Identified
The European Commission has also invited the OCTs to submit projects in several priority areas under its Global Gateway strategy.
These include maritime connectivity, digital connectivity and energy transition. At the request of the OCTs, waste management has also been added as a priority area.
For St. Maarten, these areas potentially overlap with several longstanding development challenges, including energy resilience, waste management, infrastructure and regional connectivity. However, the Dutch government’s letter does not specify individual projects or funding amounts for St. Maarten at this stage.
The Netherlands also acknowledged that simply making EU funding available does not automatically mean smaller territories can access it effectively.
According to the State Secretary, the OCTs have relatively limited implementation capacity, which can make participation in large EU programs technically possible but difficult in practice. The Netherlands therefore intends to provide more support for project development and help the territories make fuller use of funding already available under the current EU budget.
New EU Platform for Six Dutch OCTs
The government is also working on a new EU Platform involving the six Dutch OCTs and the European Netherlands.
The initiative is intended to strengthen coordination within the Kingdom and improve the effectiveness of its representation and cooperation in Brussels.
Van der Burg said greater cooperation is necessary if the Kingdom is to make better use of the OCTs’ relationship with the European Union.
The initiative builds on the Special Mission established in 2023 for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, which will increasingly focus on helping those islands mobilize EU grants.
The new platform would broaden that approach by creating a more structured mechanism involving all six Dutch Caribbean OCTs.
Negotiations Continue Into 2027
Negotiations on the new Overseas Association Decision and the EU’s 2028-2034 financial framework are still ongoing.
Ireland, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, is expected to guide the next phase of discussions.
The European Parliament is expected to vote in September 2026 on its non-binding opinion concerning the Overseas Association Decision.
Negotiations on the broader financial framework are expected to continue at least until the end of 2026 and could extend into 2027. Final adoption of the OCT Decision requires unanimous agreement among EU member states.
The Netherlands has also said it will argue for maintaining the existing territorial funding envelope, meaning funding specifically reserved for individual territories rather than shifting entirely toward broader competitive funding programs.
OCT Status Study to Be Discussed
The letter also addresses research by the University of Curaçao examining the advantages and disadvantages of OCT status compared with the EU status of Outermost Regions.
That study was submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives on June 29 following a parliamentary motion requesting an assessment of the two arrangements.
The Dutch government plans to discuss the findings with the OCTs in September and expects to send its formal response to Parliament during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Van der Burg is also scheduled to visit Brussels at the end of September, where he intends to discuss the OCT dossier, Dutch priorities and follow-up to the recent OCT-EU Forum.
The broader objective, according to the government, is to ensure that St. Maarten and the other OCTs are better positioned to benefit from European funding, investment and regional development opportunities under the next EU financial framework.
