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The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) are the three #Administration, special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (island), Saba,"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 o
ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-9
. 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 body (Netherlands), public bodies'' in the Netherlands and as special member state territories and the European Union, overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, European Union law, EU law does not automatically apply. 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.
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 member state territories and the European Union, special provisions apply.Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 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.Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 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). 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. The review was conducted as part of the planned review of the Dutch "Act for the Public body (Netherlands), public bodies Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" ( nl, "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. 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.
File:Caribbean Netherlands map.png, Map showing Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
File:The Netherlands (incl. BES) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.svg, Relative distance between Netherlands, mainland Netherlands in Europe and the Caribbean Netherlands
File:Kingdom of the Netherlands location tree.svg, The Caribbean BES islands are subdivisions of the country of the Netherlands and are therefore referred to as the "Caribbean Netherlands."
Official website of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands
Official website of the government of Bonaire
Official website of the government of Saba
Official website of the government of St. Eustatius
{{Authority control Caribbean special municipalities of the Netherlands, Dutch Caribbean, . History of the Caribbean Netherlands, Integral overseas territories Islands of the Netherlands Leeward Islands (Caribbean) Subdivisions of the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2010 2010s establishments in the Caribbean 2010 establishments in North America
ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-9
. 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 body (Netherlands), public bodies'' in the Netherlands and as special member state territories and the European Union, overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, European Union law, EU law does not automatically apply. 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.
Legal status
The three islands gained their current status following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010. At the same time, the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries ( nl, landen) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 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 . Their total area is . 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.Administration
The special municipalities ( nl, bijzondere gemeenten) carry many of the functions normally performed by Municipal politics in the Netherlands, Dutch municipalities. The executive power rests with the Governing Council headed by an Island governor. The main democratic body is the Island council (Netherlands), 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 (literally translated as "public bodies") and not (Municipality, municipalities). Unlike normal municipalities, they do not form part of a Provinces of the Netherlands, Dutch province 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, National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands. For this reason, they are called "special" municipalities. Many Dutch laws make special provisions for the Caribbean Netherlands. For example, social security is not on the same level as it is in the European Netherlands.
National Office
The ''National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands'' ( nl, 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. This agency was established as the Regional Service Center in 2008 and became the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands on 1 September 2010. The current director is Jan Helmond. 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. The current representative is Gilbert Isabella.Relationship with the European Union
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 member state territories and the European Union, special provisions apply.Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 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.Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 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). 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. The review was conducted as part of the planned review of the Dutch "Act for the Public body (Netherlands), public bodies Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" ( nl, "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. 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.
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. Units of the Netherlands Armed Forces deployed in the Caribbean include: * 32 Infantry Company of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps on Aruba; * 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 (A804), HNLMS Pelikaan; * Arumil (Aruban) and Curmil (Curaçaoan) militia elements; * a Netherlands Armed Forces Royal Marechaussee brigade. 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.Geography
The Caribbean Netherlands form part of the Lesser Antilles. Within this island group: * Bonaire is part of the ABC islands (Leeward Antilles), 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, , on Saba (island), Saba (also the highest point in all the Kingdom of the Netherlands).Climate
The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropics, 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 tropical cyclone, hurricanes.Currency
Until 1 January 2011, the three islands used the Netherlands Antillean guilder; after that all three switched to the United States dollar, 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).Communications
The telephone country code remains telephone numbers in Curaçao and the Caribbean Netherlands, 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. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, IANA has not established a root zone for the .bq Internet ccTLD and whether it will be used is unknown.See also
* 2010 Bonaire constitutional referendum * Identity card BES, 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 NetherlandsNotes
References
External links
Official website of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands
Official website of the government of Bonaire
Official website of the government of Saba
Official website of the government of St. Eustatius
{{Authority control Caribbean special municipalities of the Netherlands, Dutch Caribbean, . History of the Caribbean Netherlands, Integral overseas territories Islands of the Netherlands Leeward Islands (Caribbean) Subdivisions of the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2010 2010s establishments in the Caribbean 2010 establishments in North America