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Politics of the Netherlands: Netherlands Antilles
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Two new associated states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Meanwhile, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become a direct part of the Netherlands as special municipalities (bijzondere gemeente), a form of "public body" (openbaar lichaam) as outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution. These municipalities will resemble ordinary Dutch municipalities in most ways (they will have a mayor, aldermen and a municipal council, for example) and will have to introduce most Dutch law. Residents of these three islands will ... be able to vote in Dutch national and European elections. There are, however, some derogations for these islands. Social security, for example, will not be on the same level as it is in the Netherlands, and the islands are not obliged to introduce the euro[12]; they may retain the Antillean guilder pending further negotiations.
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Politics of the Netherlands Antilles, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Netherlands Antilles have full autonomy on most matters. Exceptions are defence, foreign affairs, and the Supreme Court.
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The Netherlands is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands[2], which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, located in northwestern Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, ► Belgium (► Flanders and a small piece of ► Wallonia) to the south, and ► Germany to the east. The current borders were established in 1839. To the Kingdom belong ... ► Aruba and the ► Netherlands Antilles[3].
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The Netherlands Antilles is to be disbanded on December 15, 2008.[10] The idea of the Netherlands Antilles as a state never enjoyed full support of all islands. Political relations between islands were often strained. After a long struggle, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986, to form its own state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The desire for secession has ... been strong in Sint Maarten.
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A large part of the Netherlands Antilleans descends from European colonists and African slaves that were brought and traded here from the 17th to 19th century. The rest of the population originates from other Caribbean islands, Latin America, East Asia and elsewhere in the world.
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The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies, are part of the Lesser Antilles and consist of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea that form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (None of the other Antilles have this term in their name.) The islands' economy is dependent mostly on tourism and oil, though a large amount of money is made in illegal drug trafficing.
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