The Caribbean Netherlands[8][9] (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland, pronounced[kaˈribisˌnedərˌlɑnt](listen)) are the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba,[10][nb 1] although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or the BES islands (an acronym of their names). The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, EU law does not automatically apply.
For all of the Caribbean entities with constitutional links with the Netherlands, see Dutch Caribbean.
Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is one of the Leeward Antilles and is located close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are in the main Lesser Antilles group and are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Caribbean Netherlands has a population of 25,157 as of January 2019.[3]
Legal status
The three islands gained their current status following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010.[11] At the same time, the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries (Dutch: landen) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[12] The island of Aruba is also a constituent country of the Kingdom located in the Caribbean. The term "Dutch Caribbean" may refer to the three special municipalities (e.g. for stamps), but may also refer to all of the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The population of the Caribbean Netherlands is 26,706.[13][14] Their total area is 328 square kilometres (127sqmi). These figures are not consistent with the table below.
In 2012, the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands voted for the first time, due to being special municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the 2012 Dutch general election.[15]
Administration
The special municipalities (Dutch: bijzondere gemeenten) carry many of the functions normally performed by Dutch municipalities. The executive power rests with the Governing Council headed by an Island governor. The main democratic body is the island council. Dutch citizens of these three islands are entitled to vote in Dutch national elections and (as all Dutch nationals) in European elections.
Officially the islands are classed in Dutch law as being openbare lichamen (literally translated as "public bodies") and not gemeenten (municipalities). Unlike normal municipalities, they do not form part of a Dutch province[16] and the powers normally exercised by provincial councils within municipalities are divided between the island governments themselves and the central government by means of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands. For this reason, they are called "special" municipalities.
Many Dutch laws make special provisions for the Caribbean Netherlands.[17] For example, social security is not on the same level as it is in the European Netherlands.[18]
Age Sex Pyramid for the Caribbian Netherlands in the year 2016
National Office
The National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland) is responsible for taxation, policing, immigration, transport infrastructure, health, education, and social security in the islands and provides these services on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands.[19] This agency was established as the Regional Service Center in 2008 and became the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands on 1 September 2010.[20][21] The current director is Jan Helmond.[22] The Representative for the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba represents the Government of the Netherlands on the islands and also performs tasks similar to a King's Commissioner.[citation needed] The current representative is Gilbert Isabella.[23]
Relationship with the European Union
The special territories of the European Union (pre-Brexit)
The islands do not form part of the European Union and instead constitute "overseas countries and territories" (OCT status) of the Union, to which special provisions apply.[nb 2] The Lisbon Treaty introduced a procedure where the European Council may change the status of an overseas territory of Denmark, France, or the Netherlands regarding the application of the EU treaties to that territory.[nb 3] In June 2008, the Dutch government published a survey of the legal and economic impacts by a switched status from OCT to outermost region (OMR).[24][25] The position of the islands was reviewed after a five-year transitional period, which began with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010.[26] The review was conducted as part of the planned review of the Dutch "Act for the public bodies Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" (Dutch: "Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba (WolBES)"), where the islands have been granted the option to become an OMR – and thus a direct part of the European Union.[27] In October 2015, the review concluded the present legal structures for governance and integration with European Netherlands was not working well within the framework of WolBES, but no recommendations were made in regards of whether a switch from OCT to OMR status would help improve this situation.[28][29][30][31]
Foreign Policy and Defence
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has overarching responsibility for foreign relations, defence and Dutch nationality law in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.[32] Units of the Netherlands Armed Forces deployed in the Caribbean include:
32 Infantry Company of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps on Aruba;[33]
a Marine Corps detachment on St Maarten;
a Fast Raiding Interception and Special Forces Craft (FRISC) troop (fast boats) on Curaçao and Aruba;
a company of the Royal Netherlands Army on Curaçao on a rotational basis;
a guardship, normally a Holland-class offshore patrol vessel, from the Royal Netherlands Navy on station on a rotational basis;
the Royal Netherlands Navy support vessel HNLMS Pelikaan;
Arumil (Aruban) and Curmil (Curaçaoan) militia elements;
a Netherlands Armed Forces Royal Marechaussee brigade.[34]
Additionally, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard is funded by the four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Coast Guard is managed by the Ministry of Defence and is directed by the commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean.[35]
Geography
The Caribbean Netherlands form part of the Lesser Antilles. Within this island group:
Bonaire is part of the ABC islands within the Leeward Antilles island chain off the Venezuelan coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin.
Saba and Sint Eustatius are part of the SSS islands. They are located east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Although in the English language they are usually described as being part of the Leeward Islands, in French, Spanish, Dutch and the English spoken locally, they are considered to be part of the Windward Islands. The Windward Islands are all of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agriculture. The highest point is Mount Scenery, 887 metres (2,910ft), on Saba (also the highest point in all the Kingdom of the Netherlands).
Map showing Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
Relative distance between mainland Netherlands in Europe and the Caribbean Netherlands
The Caribbean BES islands are subdivisions of the country of the Netherlands and are therefore referred to as the "Caribbean Netherlands."
Climate
The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical climate with warm weather all year round. The Leeward Antilles are warmer and drier than the Windward islands. In summer, the Windward Islands can be subject to hurricanes.
Currency
Until 1 January 2011, the three islands used the Netherlands Antillean guilder; after that all three switched to the U.S. dollar, rather than the euro (which is used in the European Netherlands) or the Caribbean guilder (which is being adopted by the other two former Antillean islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten).[36]
Communications
The telephone country code remains 599, that of the former Netherlands Antilles, and is shared with Curaçao. The International Organization for Standardization has assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code ISO 3166-2:BQ for these islands.[37] The IANA has not established a root zone for the .bq Internet ccTLD and whether it will be used is unknown.
See also
Geography portal
North America portal
Caribbean portal
Netherlands portal
2010 Bonaire constitutional referendum
Identity cards of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
ISO 3166-2:BQ, the ISO codes for the subdivisions of the Caribbean Netherlands
Postage stamps and postal history of the Caribbean Netherlands
Notes
.bq is designated, but not in use, for the Caribbean Netherlands.[6][7] Like the rest of the Netherlands, .nl is primarily in use.
"Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" is the listed English name for the territorial grouping in the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1, where the English spelling was corrected with the release of ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-9Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
"Changes per 10.10.10". Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (the Caribbean Netherlands)
Island guide Caribbean Netherlands – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba(PDF) (in Dutch, Papiamento, and English). Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015. We proudly present you the Island Guide Caribbean Netherlands. This information booklet has been published by the Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland for all the three islands: Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
"Nature Policy Plan The Caribbean Netherlands"(PDF). Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. 3 February 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018. ... while the other islands, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, are Dutch overseas public bodies and as such are part of the country of the Netherlands. Collectively these three islands are known as the Caribbean Netherlands ...
"World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
"31.954, Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (in Dutch). Eerste kamer der Staten-Generaal. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010. De openbare lichamen vallen rechtstreeks onder het Rijk omdat zij geen deel uitmaken van een provincie. (The public bodies (...), because they are not part of a Province).
N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies.
^These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean, of which *the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands.
†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
ǂDisputed territories administered by Guyana. ~Disputed territories administered by Colombia.
#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlantic oceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
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