Kralendijk – The Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the EU is happy to assist the public entity Bonaire in making an inventory of European Union funds that can be used.

Governor Edison Rijna and deputy Elvis Tjin Asjoe recently took advantage of their participation in a conference of the Association of Countries and Territories of the European Union (OCTA) in Brussels, to strengthen links with the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Belgian capital. Although Bonaire is no part of the European Union as such, due to the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) status, they do have access to certain funds.

“Not only is Brussels far from Kralendijk, the EU is also a huge and complex organization where it is not easy to find your way if you do not have to deal with it on a daily basis. Of the many hundreds of development funds, several are also open to the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. We want to know exactly which these and how to be eligible for them”, according to Island Governor Edison Rijna.

According to Commissioner of Economic Affairs, Elvis Tjin Asjoe, the permanent representation works for all parts of the Kingdom. According to the Commissioner, Bonaire so far has made little use of the opportunities the EU offers; something that needs to change.