THE HAGUE - The request that the Rhuggenaath Cabinet has made to the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to be given more time to get the government finances in order is still the subject of deliberation.

Undersecretary Raymond Knops of Kingdom Relations replied to written questions from the member of parliament Christ van Dam (CDA). The minister is willing to send a copy of the letter as Van Dam had requested to parliament, but only after the Kingdom Council of Minister has dealt with it, "At the moment, however, I cannot foresee what this will be like," said Knops.

In the letter in question, the Government of Curaçao invokes Article 25 of the Financial Supervision Act. This provides for "exceptional circumstances" on the basis of which the Kingdom Council of Ministers can decide to temporarily apply more flexible budget standards.

According to Willemstad, the crisis in neighboring Venezuela is such an exceptional circumstance.