I received the following press release from a colleague of “Overseas Countries and Territories (LGO:Rosaria): Stepping up cooperation for green prosperity and improved learning and skills”, December 17, 2021.

The European Commission is strengthening its partnership with the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), which have constitutional links with Denmark, France and the Netherlands, based on jointly agreed priority areas. To underpin this cooperation, the Commission has approved a financial contribution of EUR 385.4 million for the period 2021-27 to support partnerships based on agreed priorities with 10 OCTs: Aruba, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic regions, Greenland, New Caledonia, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten, as well as a regional OCT program in the Pacific.

It continues like this:

New partnerships, jointly agreed with the OCT authorities, will include projects on improving learning and skills (Greenland), digitalization (Aruba), water management (French Polynesia) and clean energy (New Caledonia, Saba and Sint Maarten) , but also on nature-friendly cultural tourism (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), sustainable agriculture (Saint Eustatius, Pacific Ocean), disaster risk management (Saint-Barthélemy) and the protection of natural habitats and oceans (French Southern and Antarctic regions). The EU will also set up a European youth network between the EU and the OCTs in 2022.

You must have noticed that Curaçao (but also Bonaire) is not on the list of the aforementioned cooperation. A useful collaboration given that the agreed projects are priorities of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the Digital Agenda. I can only speculate at this point as to why we (chose to) are not on the list. It is very disappointing. I hope that the local social organizations and especially parliament will take action.