SXMElections.com

THE HAGUE--The Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultations IPKO kicked off in The Hague Wednesday morning with the opening speeches of the President of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ankie Broekers-Knol and the delegation leaders of the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.

Broekers-Knol and the three delegation leaders, Marisol Lopez-Tromp of Aruba, Mike Franco of Curaçao and Leona Marlin-Romeo of St. Maarten were hopeful that this IPKO would yield positive results, also because of the success of the previous IPKO in Aruba in January this year.

“We don’t always agree on everything in the Kingdom, but in the end we mostly solve our issues. The last IPKO also went well. I HOPE that this IPKO will again be successful,” said Broekers-Knol.

Lopez-Tromp said the IPKO provided the opportunity for the Parliaments to exchange thoughts and have extensive discussions on important issues. The topics of this IPKO, such as health care, education, energy, economic cooperation and youth and youngsters, were extra important since they directly affected the people.

Franco said that lately there has been much commotion in the Kingdom about the different interpretations of the Charter and the decisions of the Kingdom Council of Ministers which have deeply affected the islands, Aruba and St. Maarten in particular. That’s why it was additionally important for the Parliaments to get together and learn about each other’s ideas and issues. Franco said he hoped that delegations would make progress on the establishing of a dispute regulation (geschillenregeling).

Marlin-Romeo, who was the last to speak, said that integrity in government was high on the agenda. She expressed the HOPE that the matter of establishing an Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten could be solved in an “adequate, objective manner.” She said that the dispute regulation was “not an easy topic,” but that it was clear that all parties agreed that such an arrangement should materialise in the near future.

Marlin-Romeo specifically sought attention for Small Island Development States (SIDS) such as St. Maarten and the related funding and expertise that is available for these small countries. She said that St. Maarten wants to make use of SIDS funds. St. Maarten currently can’t apply because of its affiliation to the Netherlands and is therefore considered a wealthy country. “We HOPE that we will get the cooperation of the Netherlands on this matter,” she said.

Before the formal opening in the plenary hall of the First Chamber, the delegations had the opportunity to chat and catch up in the adjacent foyer. Traditionally, the opening of the IPKO, when it is held in The Hague once a year, takes place at the Senate.

For Senators Marijke Linthorst of the Labour Party PvdA and Nanneke Quik-Schuijt it was the last opening act since they will be leaving the Senate shortly. Broekers-Knol specifically mentioned the departing Senators and profoundly thanked them for their “immense involvement” in the Senate’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations, chaired by Linthorst.