THE HAGUE – The parliamentary delegation of Aruba has seized the opportunity of the opening of the Interparliamentary Kingdom Relations to insist that the Netherlands waive the liquidity support provided during the corona crisis.
President of the Aruban Parliament Edgard Vrolijk not only believes that the loans should be converted into a gift, but also that the Netherlands should refinance Aruba’s government debt at a lower interest rate. He strongly criticized the Financial Supervision Board and the Kingdom Council of Ministers (read: the Netherlands) because they “punish” Aruba by demanding budget discipline from the Wever-Croes cabinet. It is noteworthy in that regard that the Kingdom Council of Ministers has to make a decision on Friday – the final day of the IpKo – about the advice of the Committee on Financial Supervision Aruba to give financial instruction.
On behalf of the Parliament of Curaçao, Amerigo Thodé made no secret of the disappointment that the Netherlands is not yet prepared to refinance loans that the country entered into between 2010 and 2014 at a low-interest rate. “The great efforts of the government to balance the budget are not appreciated by the Netherlands,” he concluded. He also criticized the fact that the Netherlands will stick to the salary cut in the public sector as long as the national ordinance for the standardization of top incomes has not been adopted.
