Health care and education agreements with BES islands observed

Relationship between Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba with The Hague assessed in two sectors

The agreements made in the fields of education and health care between the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and the Dutch central government in The Hague have been observed since the constitutional reforms of 10 October 2010. Investments have been made in schools and hospitals. There has also been some caution in introducing new rules and the local authorities on the BES islands have been consulted in accordance with the agreements. The Caribbean islands (known as public entities, similar to municipalities) with 20,000 residents have only limited capacity to deal with changes in regulations. There is still room for improvement, however, in the cooperation between the central government and the islands.