THE HAGUE - The Dutch Parliament Committee for Kingdom Relations has partially granted the request of the Parliaments of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten to be given more time for the written response to the COHO bill.
The Parliaments had asked to postpone the deadline from April 20 to June 17. The parliamentary committee reacted divided: Joba van den Berg (CDA) and Roelien Kamminga (VVD) think that COHO has been discussed long enough (2 years) and would like to see the handling of the law completed before the summer recess. “It doesn't come out of the blue,” says Van den Berg. Kamminga pointed out that the written round of questions does not mean the end of the process, because there will also be a plenary debate in which Parliament can participate.
Attje Kuiken (PvdA) had less difficulty with postponement as long as it is only a few weeks until shortly after the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation in Sint Maarten at the beginning of May. Jorien Wuite (D66) was applauded, who said he wanted to respect the overseas request based on the principle of equality and the will to be one Kingdom. Kauthar Bouchallikh (GroenLinks) also agreed with a limited postponement.
Van den Berg and Kamminga gave in, but expect all parties involved (up to and including the Senate, which has the last word) to speed up so that the COHO law is finalized by 11 July at the latest. The new deadline for submitting a written response to the bill has been set by the committee to May 13.
The postponement also applies to the Kingdom Act for financial supervision in Aruba, which is being discussed simultaneously.