THE HAGUE – The Parliamentary Committee for Kingdom Relations has received digitally the report ‘Small islands, Big challenges’. This report is about the economic opportunities and solutions of Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and of the islands belonging to the Caribbean Netherlands.
‘Small islands, Big challenges’ was made by the Amsterdam Economics Bureau. The Chamber Committee had requested this. The committee wanted an exploration of the opportunities and solutions for the islands, compared to other small island states in the Caribbean.
The report builds on ‘Key figures for the Kingdom’, which the committee commissioned in 2019. The consequences of the corona crisis are presented in an appendix to the report.
Silent crisis
From ‘Small Islands, Big Challenges’, it appears that a quiet crisis with virtually no prosperity growth has taken place in the islands over the past decade. Causes of this include natural disasters and economic hardship, low competitiveness, and high public debt. The corona crisis is added to this. Implementation of a broad reform program, focusing on the labor market, business climate, capital market, (costs of the) public sector, health care, and social security, can make countries economically more resilient.
Legislative consultations
The report will be involved in the legislative consultations of the Parliamentary Committee on 19 May 2020, which is devoted to the provision of support from the Netherlands to the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.
