Dutch MPs raise Caribbean security, cost-of-living, Governance concerns in Kingdom relations debate

THE HAGUE--Members of the Dutch House of Representatives used the debate on the Kingdom Relations budget and the BES fund to press the government for clearer action and accountability on security risks in the Caribbean, the high cost of living and poverty in the Caribbean Netherlands, and long-standing governance and capacity challenges across the Kingdom.

Mikal Tseggai (GroenLinks-PvdA) said geopolitical tensions in the region, particularly the escalating conflict between the United States and Venezuela, require more visible engagement from the cabinet and the State Secretary, with a stronger focus on real-life consequences for island residents. Tseggai questioned why the government remained relatively quiet for so long despite repeated concerns raised publicly by residents and administrators, and asked for a reflection on whether the response would have been different if similar developments had occurred closer to Europe.

Turning to social security and daily affordability, Tseggai highlighted how expensive life is across the islands, citing an example of a box of strawberries on Saba costing $18, and pointed to the high costs of energy, transport, and housing. While noting steps taken in recent years, including increases to the social minimum and higher allowances, Tseggai said the measures remain insufficient, referencing a letter from the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights to the United Nations last August stating that key social security provisions available in the European Netherlands are still not available in the Caribbean Netherlands, and calling attention to the shortage of social rental housing.

Tseggai also raised concerns about education outcomes, citing brain drain and teacher shortages, including a shortage of teachers who speak Papiamentu, and asked what the government’s ambitions are for improving education in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Tijs van den Brink (CDA), speaking as a newcomer to the dossier, emphasized that the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom require care and continuity, and described the Kingdom connection as rooted in people who move back and forth between the islands and the Netherlands. He pointed to moments of shared pride, including Curaçao’s national team qualifying for the World Cup, and said the connection also carries responsibility because the islands face both opportunity and vulnerability.

Van den Brink cited persistent poverty among families and the elderly on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, along with urgent and structural infrastructure backlogs ranging from roads and sewerage to drinking water and energy supply. He urged strengthening the economic perspective in the Caribbean Netherlands and combating poverty together with the islands, and asked the minister to make additional efforts to improve contact, including with the island councils of Saba and Bonaire, after island representatives said it can be difficult to get in touch.

Van den Brink also stressed that Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten are full partners within the Kingdom, and that cooperation should be built on mutual trust, transparent accountability, knowledge exchange, cultural connection, and economic opportunity, with the Dutch community of island roots involved in policies that affect the Kingdom. On security, he said Kingdom security does not stop at the North Sea and noted that the Leeward Islands are feeling the effects of instability in Venezuela through economic collapse, migration flows, geopolitical tensions, and increased smuggling and drug transport, with impacts on border control, energy security, food supply, and broader stability.

Referencing two motions recently submitted in Curaçao seeking Dutch military assistance to keep Curaçao’s airspace safe, he asked how the government assesses those motions and what steps have been taken, including how civil and military airspace safety is structurally safeguarded. He also asked whether it is possible to permanently station a naval ship in the Caribbean, and requested clarification on the proposed expansion of island councils and why it is seen as important.

Annabel Nanninga (JA21) said that roughly fifteen years after the Kingdom’s reconfiguration and the end of the Netherlands Antilles, improvements are visible, but persistent problems remain, with financial management cited as a key example. Nanninga pointed to annual accounts that are sometimes still submitted too late, regulatory warnings about shortcomings in control and implementation that have persisted for years, and concerns that real reforms are not forthcoming on some islands.

She also highlighted that substantial loans remain outstanding with Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten, and said the budget makes it difficult to track how repayments, interest charges, and refinancing are developing, requesting a response from the State Secretary. On the slavery past, Nanninga referenced that 66.6 million euros have been reserved for canons, awareness-raising, and other projects intended to address intergenerational trauma, persistent parenting patterns, and attachment problems linked to the historical slave trade, while questioning how spending can be seriously controlled and how outcomes can be verified given existing vulnerabilities in financial management.

Nanninga also raised security concerns after near-collisions between civilian and military aircraft over Curaçao, asking what will be done to prevent incidents and how the State Secretary views Curaçao’s request for additional military radar and sensor capacity. She further linked physical security to digital security, citing warnings from the NCTV that digital systems in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are at high risk of cyberattacks, and asked what steps will be taken to restore and protect digital security quickly, including whether plans are already in the pipeline.

Nanninga said conversations with delegations from the Caribbean Netherlands suggest that information-sharing on threats, geopolitical unrest, and defense is lagging, and urged that information be made available to island governments where possible, in confidence, noting that this depends on cybersecurity being in order. She also asked about preparation for refugee flows from Venezuela, saying the issue is already emerging and seeking clarity on whether there is an integrated policy, insight into the scale of flows, and adequate readiness.

Almost all MPs called for faster coordination, clearer communication, and practical follow-through, including on regional security monitoring, airspace safety, social protection gaps, education outcomes, climate resilience, governance capacity, and transparency in public spending across the Kingdom.

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵: 𝘛𝘪𝘫𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 (𝘊𝘋𝘈), 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘪 (𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴-𝘗𝘷𝘥𝘈) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢 (𝘑𝘈21).

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