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Concerns decision-making of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands on 10 July j. Regarding (financial)support to Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The HAGUE:--- Although Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (hereinafter: the countries) have barely known new infections for weeks, the impact of the Corona crisis on the Caribbean parts of our Kingdom is enormous. Tourism, the main source of income, has almost completely disappeared, leaving the economies of the countries in deep crisis. Tens of thousands of residents have lost their jobs or lost income and many are now dependent on food aid. With Dutch money, the countries have been able to alleviate the worst need, but there is no prospect that they will survive in the foreseeable future without this help. Financial support and assistance from the Netherlands will, therefore, continue to be needed in the coming months and probably even years.

The cabinet is prepared to provide this support. But the socio-economic and financial situation in which the countries find themselves compels us to take a different approach, which guarantees concrete results. The most vulnerable people deserve our unconditional support. That is why we assist the countries with generous humanitarian aid. In the longer term, it is important to make the economies of the countries resilient and to offer more security to the inhabitants. There is no longer any room for further postponement of reforms that have long been needed but have never been implemented for various reasons. That is why conditions are set for budget support from the Netherlands, to ensure that the governments achieve results with regard to financial management and good governance. The Netherlands is also prepared to support the countries in implementing the necessary reforms and realizing investments. If the Netherlands guarantees a lot of taxpayers' money in the coming years, we want to make sure that we make the countries more resilient and resilient with the resources made available. In the interest of all residents.

During the Kingdom Council of Ministers of 10 July, an integral proposal was made for further liquidity support, reforms and investments, including an attached package of conditions. During the General Consultation on 1 July last, I undertook to inform you about the results of this discussion. As an attachment to this letter, I, therefore, share this information with your House. Curaçao and Sint Maarten have not accepted this proposal. Aruba has

asked for a few days postponement to be able to organize more solid support within the country. The discussion about this proposal will, therefore, continue with Aruba in the coming days, aimed at finalizing the decision-making in the coming week. Humanitarian help In addition to financial support, the Kingdom Council of Ministers also discussed extending humanitarian aid. The Dutch government considers it of great importance that the vulnerable groups in the countries are supported. Therefore, € 16 million had previously been made available for humanitarian aid. The Kingdom Council of Ministers has decided to continue this aid until at least the end of the year and to make another € 25.2 million available for this. Food aid is provided under the coordination of the Dutch Red Cross and in collaboration with local partners. This method will be continued. With the funds previously made available by the Dutch government, approximately 5,000 households are provided with food aid in Aruba, 10,000 households in Curaçao and in Sint Maarten 3,200. Humanitarian aid is a gift without conditions. The budgetary consequences of this extension are presented to you in a supplementary budget law. New policies are normally put into effect after the States-General has authorized the fiscal law. Since, due to the urgency of these measures, an extension can not wait for formal authorization by both Houses of the States-General, the Cabinet will start implementing this measure. This acts in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 2.27 of the Government Accounts Act 2016. Finally, The countries have said they no longer want to be dependent on the Netherlands for years. That is a healthy goal and we are happy to help with that. To achieve this, we can expect drivers in the countries to have a sense of reality and decisiveness. It is precisely by making the countries more resilient than their dependence is reduced and autonomy is increased. I would like to do the right things together with the countries for all people in not only Aruba but also in Curaçao and Sint Maarten. I therefore sincerely hope that the hand that the Dutch cabinet has extended the present proposal Curaçao and Sint Maarten will be adopted later. In this regard, Curaçao has, among other things, drawn attention to the publication of documents for consultation in the country. Objections were raised for Sint Maarten the proposal is decisive.
My hope is that agreement can be reached with both countries, for example, next month, when the Kingdom Council of Ministers will discuss the advice in which the College of Financial Supervision will determine whether both countries have fulfilled the conditions for the second tranche of liquidity support. But that choice is of course up to Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The Secretary of State for the Interior and Kingdom Relations,

Raymond Knops

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