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local Wednesday 21 september 2022

In 2023, the responsibilities of the Kingdom and of Aruba are redefined

King Willem Alexander: Commemoration of 150 years of abolition

of slavery is time for the Netherlands to account for its history

A better future for the entire Kingdom: that is the from tourism fell greatly and was to blame for in-
objective of the budget for the Kingdom of the crease in deficit. Thanks to the financial support
Netherlands that includes policy directed on from the Netherlands it was possible to continue
the Caribbean countries within the Kingdom. providing public services and financial means
The document is part of the Millioenennota, the were available to support the citizens and com-
Kingdom Budget that was officially presented to merce.
the Dutch Parliament, the Staten Generaal, for
its new Parliamentary Year. The beginning of 2022 marked a strong eco-
nomic recovery that helped public finances,
His Majesty King Willem Alexander, for the first but there still is no complete recovery. If in 2023
time in the presence of his daughter, Princess there is to be a balanced budget, that de-
Amalia, opened the Dutch Parliamentary Year, pends on how the countries take advantage of
known as Prinsjesdag. economic growth and at the same time keep
public spending in check. A balanced budget
In his speech, King Willem Alexander illustrated is important for sustainable public finances. The
that we are living in times of contradiction and way in which the measures in the landspakket
insecurity, with life security under pressure, pov- are effectively implemented also has an influ-
erty increasing despite economic growth and a ence on public finances.
decline in unemployment. There is worry about For example, the reforms in the tax department
the aggressive tone in the Netherlands and be- will contribute to better compliance with pay-
cause many have lost confidence in politics to ing of tax; improvement of financial policy will
solve problems. be directed on income and expenses; and the
The challenges for climate change, the neces- tions and a good future for every resident of the reform of the public sector to increase effec-
sary steps and the war in Ukraine remain great Netherlands.” tiveness and reduce spending will increase the
challenges. But the king urged to have a look trust of investors and consumers.
at how all achievements have taken place, Policy for the Kingdom As such, healthy public finances are a very im-
firmly, as was the case after World War II when The Kingdom of the Netherlands shares a past portant subject and a crucial goal of the land-
his great-grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina told and a future, according to the Dutch Govern- spakket.
Parliament that attitude determines how to af- ment in his policy for the Kingdom. The Neth-
front challenges. erlands wants to work on the basis of equality, Aside from specific problems which hinder a
reciprocity and mutual trust, for a better future declaration of accountant for the annual ac-
“This year, the Cabinet began with an agenda and more hope for the Kingdom, after 10 years counts, there are also fundamental problems in
for the future for 2030 that must provide future of economic stagnation and blows of hurri- legislation, financial organization, financial pro-
generations the ability to enjoy a safe and cane, pandemic and another crisis. cesses and administration. Concrete steps are
clean country. The perspective needs to be formulated to bring financial policy back in or-
there for everyone, of every race and creed, in The budget for the BES islands falls under man- der for the coming years, in the form of a map.
the Netherlands as in the Dutch Caribbean, in agement of Kingdom Affairs, and the objective In 2023 the focus will remain on taking control
collaboration with Curaçao, Sint Maarten and is that in 2023 the islands can find their position of the implementation of reforms and improve-
Aruba.” as a dignified part of the Netherlands. Invest- ment on reliability of information, processes and
ments will be made to eliminate poverty and financial laws will become visible.
The effects of war and sanctions against Rus- together with the governments of the islands,
sia have made electricity and food a lot more work to the benefit of all. The Kingdom policy for 2023 will continue de-
expensive, which has heavy consequences for pending on the supervisory work of C(A)ft,
people, families and businesses, creating a lot The Cabinet also put emphasis on the three which keeps an eye on financial execution of
of pressure. 18 billion Euros were made autonomous countries in 2023. Part of the ef- the landspakket and also advices the Kingdom
available to temporarily compensate part of forts of the Cabinet is to promote more coop- Government and the autonomous countries in
the price increase for families with medium eration with and among the countries in the order to reach a sustainable financial policy.
and lower income. The support is also available long term. This way, the Dutch Cabinet is imple- The Netherlands counts on the work of CAft
for the BES islands – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and menting motions of the Tweede Kamer (Dutch being based on the Rijkswet Aruba financieel
Saba. Congress), so that through mutual agreement, Toezicht (Kingdom law of Financial Supervision
another term can be reach regarding the re- of Aruba), Raft, in 2023. The law is currently in the
But to increase quality of life, investments will sponsibilities of each autonomous country and Parliaments of the Netherlands and Aruba.q
be done in the area of recovery and renova- the Kingdom as a whole.
tion of the cultural sector that suffered during The starting point remains that Curaçao, Sint
the coronavirus pandemic. Culture connects Maarten and Aruba are autonomous countries
people and makes it possible to discuss difficult with their own responsibilities.
subjects, according to the king. He mentioned In line with the Statuut, the countries can count
racism and discrimination and the fact that on support and help, when they ask for it, and
attention needs to be given to the less-pretty if it’s in the framework of agreements made. An
history of the Netherlands. “On the path to example of current cooperation is the Country
commemorating 150 years since the abolition Packages (landspakket).
of slavery, it’s time to account for this part of
our history”, King Willem Alexander said, finish- Public finances, financial policy and supervision
ing his speech with another quote by his great- Sustainable public finances are a condition
grandmother Whilhelmina: “Together we must for economic development. Budget manage-
work for the benefit of the Netherlands, and in ment of the three countries remains a chal-
this light, the government wants to work with lenge, with public debt increasing drastically.
Members of Parliament for contemporary solu- Covid-19 worsened the situation, where income