THE HAGUE - State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen remains committed to obtaining subsidy funds from the European Commission for the islands, but she does not guarantee success. The European Commission's procedures are complex and require a great deal of knowledge and skills, and sometimes cooperation and co-financing, which are not always available in the current relationship of the islands with Europe.
The State Secretary answers questions from the CDA and Nanninga parliamentary parties in the Dutch House of Representatives.
The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom have the status of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) with the European Union. Unlike the outermost regions (UPGs), European law does not fully apply in the OCTs. Due to the OCT status, they have more limited access to EU funds than the UPGs.
In her answer, the State Secretary provides an overview of funds that the OCTs can use. In addition to submitting proposals independently for the funds that are open to the OCTs, the islands can try to jointly submit proposals for these funds or seek affiliation with projects from other Member States or UPGs.
Van Huffelen is prepared to provide support in this regard and will continue to work within the European Union to increase effective access to EU funds for the islands.