According to Parliamentarian Hendrik Tevreden, the parliamentary meeting held this week was actually requested almost eight months ago by the MEP and PPA factions to find out what was happening with the Kingdom Act. Until August, nobody knew anything about this process, until ministers Mike Eman, Geoffrey Wever, and Gerlien Croes sent the Kingdom Act directly to the Council of Ministers in the Netherlands, ignoring previous agreements about the process and consensus within the Kingdom.
Looking back to 2022, the parliaments of Aruba, Sint Maarten, Curaçao, and the Dutch First and Second Chambers had agreements about procedures for Kingdom Acts. Governments of these countries cannot proceed with a process without the parliament of the respective country first reviewing it (in this case, Aruba’s parliament). Nevertheless, on August 14, the Aruba government sent the draft Kingdom Act directly to the Netherlands and submitted it to the Council of Ministers, contrary to the agreed-upon procedures.
By going directly to the Netherlands, the government deprived Aruba’s parliament of the chance to review the HOFA Kingdom Act and propose changes before it reached the Council of Ministers. Now, the law must reach the Tweede Kamer before Aruba’s parliament can submit a report and provide comments if desired. To do so, a majority in the Tweede Kamer is required.
Parliamentarian Tevreden explained that one reason the government is pushing the Kingdom Act is to save 11 million florin annually on the loan taken during the Covid period. Practically speaking, this trades Aruba’s financial freedom and Status Aparte for just 11 million florin per year. While this may seem significant to some, given Aruba’s annual revenues of 7.1 billion florin, 11 million is a high price for surrendered autonomy, Tevreden stated.
Despite the difficult situation, Tevreden said he will continue to fight against the Kingdom Act. Of the nine parliamentarians who opposed the law, there are now ten, if the number reaches 11, there will be no consensus and the HOFA Kingdom Act will not proceed.
as Parliamentarian Mike de Meza has also opposed it. It is hoped that this number will continue to grow and eventually form a majority in parliament against the law, which could then be included in the report to the Tweede Kamer. It would have been better if parliament had opposed it now, but unfortunately that is not the case, and Aruba’s parliament can no longer take a position at this time, Tevreden concluded.