THE HAGUE--The Inter-parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom, which had been scheduled for early June in The Hague, will most likely not go ahead due to the political situation in the Netherlands.
Chairwoman Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations Brigitte van der Burg discussed the fate the five-day meeting with the chairpersons of the Parliamentary Kingdom Relations Committees in Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten earlier this week.
Van der Burg informed the Committee for Kingdom Relations during a meeting on Wednesday, "Considering the fall of the Dutch cabinet, the pending elections and the changed political relations, we wondered whether there was any sense in continuing with this consultation," said Van der Burg.
According to Van der Burg, the chairpersons decided that they would all go back to their committee to discuss a calling-off of the consultation. "It is after all a costly affair for the islands to travel to The Netherlands for these meetings," she said.
Chairman of the Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Roy Marlin stated due to the collapse of the Dutch Government and the planned elections that would bring possible changes in the composition of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations in the Dutch Second Chamber, it was decided to propose to the respective inter-parliamentary committees to postpone the IPKO meeting until January 2013.
The chairpersons agreed to hold a video conference in late June to discuss the progress that has been made by the work groups in the different areas such as education, youth and youngsters, transport of goods and persons, and energy.
St. Maarten has indicated to Chairman André Bosman (VVD) of the work group Energy that it wants to be involved in the alternative energy projects that the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation is arranging with St. Eustatius and Saba. It concerns geothermal and wind energy. St. Maarten has yet to respond to the work groups of Education and Youth and Youngsters.
In September, the Parliaments will decide when to hold the Inter-parliamentary Consultation. But the consultation will, in any case, not take place in the second half year of 2012, because of the hectic times in The Hague surrounding the elections in September and the formation period after.
Most probably the next Inter-parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom will take place in January 2013, and because the meetings in the early part of the year are always held on the islands, it means that this year The Hague will not be hosting the event.
The State of the Kingdom has also been postponed. Initiative taker Member of Parliament Wassila Hachchi of the democratic D66 party said that holding the State of the Kingdom after the Inter-parliamentary Consultation in June proved impossible for technical organisational reasons.
Hachchi told The Daily Herald that the Chairpersons of the four Parliaments had discussed the State of the Kingdom. All Parliaments in principle were positive about her proposal. The Parliaments will continue the preparations to have the State of the Kingdom sometime next year.
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