News item | 15-06-2022 | 09:49
State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen and government commissioner Alida Francis of St. Eustatius signed the Agreement on St. Eustatius 2022-2023 on Tuesday 14 June. The St Eustatius Agreement 2022-2023 contains agreements to improve life on the island for residents, among other things by increasing minimum incomes and lowering the costs of living, for example.
State Secretary Van Huffelen: “I am pleased that we were able to sign these agreements today. It is great that we can take steps that improve the lives of people on St. Eustatius.”
Government Commissioner Alida Francis: “I look back with a huge sense of gratitude on the efforts of the members of the Island Council and the government in the Netherlands. Together with the efforts of many officials behind the scenes, they have made possible these agreements that are so good for the people of St. Eustatius.”
Under the Coalition Agreement, an additional 30 million euros per year has been made available for the Caribbean Netherlands. The agreements on this with Sint Eustatius will run from 1 July 2022 to 1 July 2023, so that after the Island Council elections, a new Agreement Agreement for 2023 and beyond can be worked on together with the Island Council and the provincial executives.
Among other things, the Agreement includes the joint priorities of the Island Council and the government commissioner. Some priorities are, for example, poverty reduction, public housing, sustainable energy and economic development. There is 1 million euros available to clear arrears on the island, the free benefit will increase by the same amount. More than 660,000 euros is also available to strengthen the administrative and implementation capacity on the island.
Content Agreement agreement
Well-being refers to structurally increasing the incomes of the inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands, lowering the cost of living (drinking water, telecom), investigating how to improve the provision of care and modernizing the social security system. For example, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate is making €4.5 million available for the Caribbean Netherlands to reduce the costs of drinking water until 2027.
In terms of prosperity, agreements have been made about increasing employment, focusing on regional cooperation for vocational education, strengthening infrastructure, improving notarial and banking services and researching sustainable air connections. To make regional cooperation in the Caribbean Netherlands more sustainable, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is making a structural allocation of €1 million to improve the connection between education and the labor market. For these subjects, there is cooperation with the Ministries of Finance, Justice and Security, Social Affairs and Employment and Education, Culture and Science.
The circularity theme contains agreements on expanding the capacity for a sustainable energy supply (and thus reducing energy costs), developing the sustainable agricultural sector and strategically tackling the stray livestock problem. For the investment in a sustainable energy supply on St. Eustatius, for example, €2.5 million is incidentally made available by Economic Affairs and Climate. Attention is also paid to spatial development: plans have been made for renovating and increasing the number of social rental homes and protecting national heritage.
Under the heading of good governance, agreements have been made about completing the update of the outdated permits, modernizing the permit application process, increasing the administrative and executive capacity of the civil service, improving financial management and focusing on youth participation. . The Ministry of Interior is making an extra million euros available for this.