THE HAGUE--St. Maarten will have two additional years to complete reforms under its Country Package, after the Dutch government decided to extend the reform cooperation framework with St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao through 2029.
The decision became clear Tuesday with the publication of the 2027 Kingdom Relations budget on Prinsjesdag, ending months of uncertainty over whether the Netherlands would continue the arrangement beyond its existing term. The People’s Tribune reported on September 3 that State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Eric van der Burg had told the Dutch Parliament that the government had reached a decision but would not disclose it before September 15 because doing so would reveal information contained in the 2027 budget.
The extension concerns the Mutual Arrangement for Cooperation on Reforms, which provides the framework under which the Netherlands supports St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao in carrying out the reforms contained in their respective Country Packages. The arrangement was concluded in April 2023 after the reform agreements that originated in 2020 during the COVID-19 financial crisis. The current arrangement was originally due to expire on April 4, 2027 and allows for extensions of two years.
The additional two years will not require a new overall allocation from the Netherlands. Instead, the Kingdom Relations budget shifts €30.9 million previously scheduled for 2027 into the following two years, with €21.3 million moved to 2028 and €9.6 million to 2029. The adjustment effectively spreads existing resources over a longer implementation period as the three countries continue work on reforms that have taken longer than initially anticipated.
The decision follows an independent evaluation of the reform cooperation earlier this year. That evaluation concluded that the Country Packages had helped get reforms underway, but also found that structural changes require more time to implement and secure within government institutions. The evaluation committee recommended continuation of the arrangement.
The recommendation for additional time was particularly significant. As The People’s Tribune reported in April, the evaluation identified St. Maarten as having the most vulnerable implementation position of the three Caribbean countries because of limitations in manpower and government capacity. The committee warned that allowing the cooperation framework to end while major reforms remained unfinished could result in St. Maarten losing technical expertise, coordination and implementation support provided through the Temporary Work Organization, TWO.
The committee recommended a two-year extension for St. Maarten to allow the country to finish ongoing reforms, strengthen its institutional base and build greater internal capacity to carry the work forward. During the June IPKO in The Hague, the committee described an extension for St. Maarten as necessary, particularly to strengthen the institutional foundation required for broader reforms and preserve the support available through TWO.
The Country Packages cover a wide range of structural reforms, including public financial management, taxation, government operations, economic development, healthcare and social systems, education and areas connected to strengthening the rule of law. In St. Maarten, projects under the framework have also included government digitalization, modernization of the tax administration and improvements to financial management systems.
Tuesday’s decision therefore answers the question The People’s Tribune highlighted earlier this month when Van der Burg told Parliament that September 15 would provide clarity. At that time, he confirmed that discussions and preparations with the Caribbean countries had continued despite the pending political decision, so that implementation would not lose additional time should the Netherlands opt to continue the cooperation.
