The Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) meeting in The Hague, which was scheduled for June, has been postponed due to the collapse of the Dutch Government.
Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Roy R. Marlin, Chairperson of the Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations, stated that on April 24, the Chairpersons of the Committees on Kingdom Relations of the four Parliaments of the Dutch Kingdom held a preliminary discussion via videoconferencing with respect to IPKO, which was scheduled for early June.
MP Marlin added, due to the collapse of the government of The Netherlands, the planned Parliamentary elections and the possible changes in the composition of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations in the Dutch Second Chamber, the Chairs decided to propose to their respective committees to postpone the IPKO meeting until January 2013.
In the meantime, the Chairs will encourage the workgroups to submit their findings to the IPKO as soon as possible so that the people’s work with respect to the four countries within the Dutch Kingdom can be executed as agreed upon.
It was also decided that the Chairs would periodically reconnect with each other via videoconferencing to review the progress of the workgroups and to discuss preparations for the next IPKO meeting.
It is the opinion of the Chairs that the efficiency of the IPKO deliberations is best served in this manner and that the taxpayers’ money being budgeted for IPKO consultations is being spent as effectively as possible.
Members of the Sint Maarten Committee are Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Roy Marlin, Chairman, MP Hon. Ruth Douglass, Vice Chair, MP Hon. Patrick Illidge, MP Hon. William Marlin, and MP Hon. Frans Richardson.