Meet Members of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Thursday
Preparations are well under way for the public to have the opportunity to meet with Members of the Dutch First Chamber of Parliament, also known as the Senate, who will be on the island January 10 to meet the public at an open event.
"I am very pleased," said President of Parliament Hon. Drs. Rodolphe Samuel on Monday that the community will have the opportunity to talk with Dutch Members of Parliament (MPs).
The public can meet with Dutch MPs on Thursday, January 10 at the Cultural Centre on Backstreet from 7.00pm to 8.30pm.
Since Kingdom laws are directly applicable on Sint Maarten and the policies of the Kingdom Government directly impact Sint Maarten, this means that the First Chamber has a great influence on the lives of the people of Sint Maarten, President Samuel pointed out on Monday.
"It is with this mind-set that this session is being held. This is an opportunity for a personal meeting with the Members of the First Chamber, where Members can hear for example about the new political structure introduced on October 10, 2010, the experience with respect to the relationship between Sint Maarten, the Netherlands and in particularly with Sint Eustatius and Saba, and any other topic that may arise.
"The Members of the First Chamber are looking forward to an open and constructive exchange of views with the people of Sint Maarten," President Samuel added.
One of the issues that the community can discuss with Dutch MPs is the new Dutch Government’s intention to present a law to apply the same residency registration rules in the Netherlands for people from Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten as overseas countries have for Dutch people who want to reside on the islands.
One of the requirements is that individuals from the aforementioned islands would have to provide proof of good conduct; they must have a degree/diploma; they should have work or sufficient income to support them while in the Netherlands.
The aim is to submit the initiative law in January 2013.
PHOTO CUTLINE: President of Parliament Hon. Rodolphe Samuel.