Member of Parliament Eduard Pieters (PPA) has criticized the comparison made by Eric van der Burg, State Secretary for Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations, between the Rijkswet HOFA (Kingdom Act HOFA) and an Mutual Arrangement (Onderling Regeling), warning the people of Aruba that this undermines our autonomy. To Eduard Pieters, this matter is not merely legal; it is a matter of national dignity. According to Pieters, this comparison is not only juridically incorrect, but also dangerous.
The Netherlands wants to sell something different Pieters stated that a Mutual Arrangement based on Article 38 of our Kingdom Charter is an administrative agreement between partners within the Kingdom to help each other voluntarily, whereas the Rijkswet HOFA deeply alters the constitutional relationship between Aruba and the Netherlands and has direct consequences for our autonomy. “It is not the same thing. The government asks for trust, but gives no transparency!” Pieters expressed.
The Mutual Arrangement without a Kingdom Act basis has worked Pieters continued by saying that after COVID-19, Aruba struck an agreement with the Netherlands to help Aruba execute plans to strengthen its governmental apparatus. The Mutual Arrangement resulted in Country Packages (Landspakketten), which were evaluated this year. “From the evaluation, it can be concluded that the collaboration between the two countries in the Kingdom went well. Much has been achieved on the basis of mutual respect, and yet some work remains when considering that these are complex tasks,” Eduard Pieters elaborated. Furthermore, it was noted that Aruba has taken its responsibility seriously and has taken ownership of the process.
“If the previous government and the current government adhere to the rules and laws in force regarding the budget of the country of Aruba, the evaluation of the collaboration between Aruba and the Netherlands has gone well. We have a surplus, our debt-to-GDP ratio continues to drop significantly, and our economy is stable. Our ratings for financing are better, and we adhere to the LAft; even Dutch State Secretary Van der Burg said that Aruba is doing very well and in a certain sense even better than the Netherlands. Why the insistence on continuing to negotiate a Rijkswet HOFA? Why can’t we close a Mutual Arrangement to work on our Budgetary Chamber (Begrotingskamer) and have the Netherlands help us borrow money at a low interest rate on the international market, which Aruba will pay back to the Netherlands?” Pieters asked.
Parliament still does not know what is being negotiated Beyond the content of the possible “new” Rijkswet HOFA, Pieters expressed concern that Parliament still does not know exactly what is being negotiated. According to Pieters, the government is moving with urgency through a constitutional trajectory, while the legal representative of the people has yet to gain clarity on the changes that could affect local laws and Aruba’s constitutional position. “We don’t know what is changing yet.” To Pieters, this is unacceptable. “You cannot ask Parliament to trust a process that Parliament itself does not know.”
Autonomy is not a subject to be negotiated in silence Pieters reminded that the PPA has the authority to maintain the same position of saying NO to HOFA and NO to LWHO. “We have not been in government or parliament for over twenty years. We did NOT sign a administrative agreement (bestuurlijk akkoord) where Article 38, which undermines our Constitution, was created under pressure from the Netherlands, nor did we sign the Rijkswet HOFA to send it to the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom with the same pressure from the Netherlands and pressure from the FUTURO party (otherwise there is no AVP-FUTURO Government).”
According to Pieters, the PPA will never accept any process that weakens our Status Aparte which shaped our Constitution, nor our Kingdom Charter and, most importantly, Aruba’s autonomy. “We as members of parliament have sworn an oath to protect our Constitution, our laws, and our autonomy. My constitutional duty is to safeguard this.”