Loekie Morales from the Department of Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK) that falls under the Ministry of General Affairs, is currently in the Netherlands visiting the Cabinet of Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten regarding the development of a European Union (EU) dossier for the country.
The BAK is the focal point of EU relations. Morales will be visiting the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior & Kingdom Relations concerning Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)-EU relations for Sint Maarten.
The aim of the visit is to also gather information about programs and projects of the European Development Fund (EDF), and putting together a framework for a good working relationship between Sint Maarten, the Netherlands and Belguim on EU matters.
During Morales working visit, she is being assisted by Cor (Cornelius) James, Director of the Cabinet of the Sint Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary. Besides visits to Dutch ministries, the duo will visit the permanent representative of the Kingdom to the EU Commission and Overseas Countries and Territories Association’s (OCTA) in Brussels.
"After the visit, the intention is to inform and receive input from several Sint Maarten Ministries in order to create a vision and a master plan for EU relations. My Cabinet will work very closely with the Ministries in Sint Maarten on this EU dossier," Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges told the Department of Communication (DCOMM).
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, earlier in the year attended the OCTA Ministerial Conference and the OCT-EU Forum held on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia.
After Sint Maarten acquired country status last October, Sint Maarten is now officially an OCT, but before that the Netherlands Antilles was an OCT.
The OCTs are non-European countries and territories that have special relations with Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
They are associated with the European Community with a view to promoting their economic and social development and establishing close economic relations between them and the Community as a whole.
The European Community Treaty states that the association of the OCTs with the Community ‘shall serve primarily to further the interests and prosperity of the inhabitants of these countries and territories in order to lead them to the economic, social and cultural development to which they aspire.’
There are in total approximately 25 OCTs. The OCTs are constitutionally linked to a Member State, but without being part of the Community.
The European Commission has since 2005 suggested building a new relationship based on the OCTs and EU membership of the same family.
The European Commission (EC) wishes to carry out a holistic review of the relations between the EU and the OCTs and to consider a substantial revision of the OCT-EC association.