EA News conducted an exclusive interview with Aruban Prime Minister Evelyn Wever Croes on the developments between Aruba and the Netherlands. Prime Minister Evelyn Wever Croes elaborates that on August 22 there was a meeting in the Aruba parliament, that is based on a proposal that the Netherlands gave Aruba just before the recess that it is not necessary to follow on a RAFT, but that can work on another Rijkswet, this is the proposal that the government of Aruba received before the recess, and for this reason it was necessary to wait for the parliament to come back from the recess and so there was a meeting in the parliament.
The meeting continued on 7 September and in the end parliament voted to eliminate the RAFT, withdraw the RAFT. According to the prime minister there was an attempt by the minority opposition that the independent parliamentarians and the fraction of MAS and Acción 21 brought forward a motion urging the government to sign the RAFT quickly before October 1, but this petition was barred from the table altogether where there were 16 votes against the opposition group in parliament.
What was clear was that the parliament had spoken on 7 September where it had given its final opinion on the RAFT and where it should be withdrawn. According to Prime Minister Evelyn Wever Croes at a time when a parliament is voicing a motion to withdraw from the RAFT, the government in turn cannot continue to talk about the RAFT, and this is what is happening right now.
At the same time, the parliament asked the government to continue negotiations and gave a framework on whether in the negotiations should talk about a kingdom law, while the parliament has certain requirements that it puts on it.
He referred to points that had been agreed upon during his meetings with the parliaments of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten at IPKO meetings. These agreements, if working on a Rijkswet, must involve parliament very early, considering that the RAFT parliament was not involved and secretary of state Raymond Knops did not want to give the documents to parliament at that time. This was certainly not in his place and was a big mistake that was made, but at the time the Dutch did not want to listen, but now the parliament has made this a condition.
The Aruban parliament has also made it a condition to involve them and keep the parliament in mind during the process, so that the parliament does not end up with a concept of law that they do not find themselves in.
The parliament also called for respect for the parliament’s budgetary authority and the democratic rights of every citizen of Aruba. This is the framework and this is what Aruba is doing business with the Netherlands.
In this way the government of Aruba made a proposal with the Netherlands where they sent a draft agreement in principle and they proposed to come up with a “Hybrid” solution and this means a Rijkswet with some points of regulation in it and a law which is a local law with other points of regulation in it. That is, to share what is now on the left. Currently the Netherlands wants to fill the LAFT in a kingdom law and parliament has not given its consent. With this decision it is now divided between what is in the LAFT, what can be given to the kingdom law and what will remain in the national ordinance.
However, the Netherlands has not yet responded to the proposal made by Aruba, but has finally commented. For the Netherlands the norm must be given in the kingdom law, but it is not yet known which norms the Netherlands refers to, and Aruba has three norms.
According to Prime Minister Evelyn Wever Croes one of the three standards is that every budget must have a surplus of at least 1%, another standard is that Aruba’s personal spending cannot exceed 10% of our GDP and the other standard is that by 2031 Aruba must reach 70% of our GDP debt and by 2040 50%.
Prime Minister Evelyn Wever Croes indicates that at the moment Aruba and the Netherlands are in the process of negotiating with the Netherlands to hear from them what norms they want in a kingdom law, and Aruba is dependent on that.