BES islands
Encyclopedia
The Caribbean Netherlands collectively refers to the three special municipalities (officially public bodies
) of the Netherlands
that are located overseas, in the Caribbean
: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The territorial grouping is alternately known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba"Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" (English), "Bonaire, Saint-Eustache et Saba" (French) and "Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (Dutch) are the listed names for the territorial grouping in the International Organization for Standardization
's ISO 3166-1
standard. or the BES islands. Although part of the country of the Netherlands, the special municipalities remain overseas territories of the European Union
at least until 2015.
Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire
) is located east of Aruba
and Curaçao
, close to the coast of Venezuela
. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis
. The three islands gained their current status following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles
on 10 October 2010, while the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
. The BES islands have a collective population of 18,000 and a total area of 328 square kilometres (126.6 sq mi).
. The executive power rests with the governing council headed by a Lieutenant Governor . The main democratic body is the island council
. Residents of these three islands are entitled to vote in Dutch national and (as all Dutch nationals) in European elections.
Officially the islands are classed in Dutch law as being (literally translated as "public bodies") and not (municipalities). They do not form part of a Dutch province, and the powers normally exercised by provincial councils within municipalities are divided between the island governments themselves and the central government (by means of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands).
For many Dutch laws there is a special BES version. For example, social security
is not on the same level as it is in the European Netherlands.
The islands do not form part of the European Union
and instead constitute "overseas countries and territories" of the Union to which special provisions apply.Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty introduced a procedure where the European Council
may change the status of an extra-European territory of Denmark, France or the Netherlands regarding the application of the EU treaties to that territory.Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It is intended to review the position of the islands after a five year transitional period began with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010.
The Representative for the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba represents the Government of the Netherlands on the islands and also performs tasks similar to a Queen's commissioner
. The current representative is Wilbert Stolte.
The Caribbean Netherlands form part of the Lesser Antilles
. Within this island group,
with warm weather all year round. The Leeward Islands are warmer and drier than the Windward islands. In summer, the Windward Islands can be subject to hurricanes.
which is used in the European Netherlands or the Caribbean guilder
which is being adopted by the other two former Antillean islands of Curaçao
and Sint Maarten. The decision to introduce the US dollar on the three islands was taken in November 2008.
remains 599, that of the former Netherlands Antilles, and is shared with Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The ISO has assigned the two-letter country code BQ for these islands. The IANA
has not established a root zone for the .bq
Internet ccTLD and whether it will be used is unknown.
Public body (Netherlands)
In the Netherlands, the term public body is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state, such as the central government, a province, a municipality or a water board...
) of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
that are located overseas, in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The territorial grouping is alternately known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba"Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" (English), "Bonaire, Saint-Eustache et Saba" (French) and "Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (Dutch) are the listed names for the territorial grouping in the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
's ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names...
standard. or the BES islands. Although part of the country of the Netherlands, the special municipalities remain overseas territories of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
at least until 2015.
Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire
Klein Bonaire
Klein Bonaire is a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is part of the Dutch special municipality of Bonaire. The islet, which sits within the rough crescent formed by the main island, is 6 square kilometres and extremely flat, rising no more than two...
) is located east of Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
and Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, close to the coast of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....
. The three islands gained their current status following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
on 10 October 2010, while the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
. The BES islands have a collective population of 18,000 and a total area of 328 square kilometres (126.6 sq mi).
Administration
The special municipalities carry many of the functions normally performed by Dutch municipalitiesMunicipal politics in the Netherlands
Municipal politics in the Netherlands is an important aspect of the politics of the Netherlands. The municipality is the lowest level of government, but this does not reflect the importance that the Amsterdam and Rotterdam governments play in Dutch political life...
. The executive power rests with the governing council headed by a Lieutenant Governor . The main democratic body is the island council
Island council (Netherlands)
The island council is a form of local government in special municipalities in the Caribbean Netherlands. It is similar to municipal council in the European part of the Netherlands...
. Residents of these three islands are entitled to vote in Dutch national and (as all Dutch nationals) in European elections.
Officially the islands are classed in Dutch law as being (literally translated as "public bodies") and not (municipalities). They do not form part of a Dutch province, and the powers normally exercised by provincial councils within municipalities are divided between the island governments themselves and the central government (by means of the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands).
For many Dutch laws there is a special BES version. For example, social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
is not on the same level as it is in the European Netherlands.
The islands do not form part of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and instead constitute "overseas countries and territories" of the Union to which special provisions apply.Per the Annex II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty introduced a procedure where the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
may change the status of an extra-European territory of Denmark, France or the Netherlands regarding the application of the EU treaties to that territory.Now contained in Article 355(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It is intended to review the position of the islands after a five year transitional period began with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010.
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National Office
The National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands has assumed responsibility for taxation, policing, immigration, transport infrastructure, health, education and social security in the islands and provides these services on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands. This agency was established as the Regional Service Center in 2008 and became the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands on 1 September 2010. The current director is Sybren van Dam.The Representative for the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba represents the Government of the Netherlands on the islands and also performs tasks similar to a Queen's commissioner
Queen's Commissioner
The Queen's Commissioner is the head of a province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten and the Gedeputeerde Staten , but only has a right to vote in the latter...
. The current representative is Wilbert Stolte.
Geography
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
. Within this island group,
- Bonaire is part of the ABC islands within the Leeward AntillesLeeward AntillesThe Leeward Antilles are a chain of islands in the Caribbean – specifically, the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast of the South American mainland...
island chain off the VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin. - Saba and St. Eustatius are part of the SSS islands within the "Windward IslandsWindward IslandsThe Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
" (Bovenwindse Eilanden). They are located east of Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the Virgin IslandsVirgin IslandsThe Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. Although in English language they are considered part of the Leeward IslandsLeeward IslandsThe Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and the English spoken locally consider them part of the Windward Islands. The Windward Islands are all of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The highest point is Mount SceneryMount SceneryMount Scenery is a potentially active volcano in the Caribbean Netherlands. Its lava dome forms the summit of the Saba island stratovolcano. At an elevation of 877 m, it is the highest point in both the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and, since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10...
, 877 metres (2,877 ft), on Saba (also the highest point in all the Kingdom of the NetherlandsKingdom of the NetherlandsThe Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
).
Climate
The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
with warm weather all year round. The Leeward Islands are warmer and drier than the Windward islands. In summer, the Windward Islands can be subject to hurricanes.
Currency
Until 1 January 2011, the three islands used the Netherlands Antillean guilder and after that all three switched to the US dollar, rather than the euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
which is used in the European Netherlands or the Caribbean guilder
Caribbean guilder
The Caribbean guilder is the proposed currency of the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten which formed after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010. The Netherlands Antillean guilder is expected continue to circulate until 2013 as the currency was not finalised in...
which is being adopted by the other two former Antillean islands of Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and Sint Maarten. The decision to introduce the US dollar on the three islands was taken in November 2008.
Communications
The telephone country codeCountry code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...
remains 599, that of the former Netherlands Antilles, and is shared with Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The ISO has assigned the two-letter country code BQ for these islands. The IANA
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
has not established a root zone for the .bq
.bq
.bq is designated -but not in use- as the Internet country code top-level domain for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba following the assignment on December 15, 2010 by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency of BQ as the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 to the area...
Internet ccTLD and whether it will be used is unknown.
See also
- ABC islands (Lesser Antilles)
- SSS islands
- Kingdom of the NetherlandsKingdom of the NetherlandsThe Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
- Dutch CaribbeanDutch CaribbeanThe term Dutch Caribbean refers to the islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean and their inhabitants, and in the past also to Dutch territory on the northern coast of South America....
- Bonaire constitutional referendum, 2010Bonaire constitutional referendum, 2010The Bonaire constitutional referendum of 2010 was originally scheduled to take place on January 15, 2010. The Bonairean Executive Council later voted to hold it on 26 March 2010, but Lieutenant Governor Glenn Thode requested that the enabling legislation be cancelled, citing his belief that it...
- Identity cards of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaIdentity card BESThe Identity card BES is a uniform identity card for residents in the Caribbean Netherlands introduced upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The cards are machine-readable and have the size of a creditcard...
- Postage stamps and postal history of the Caribbean NetherlandsPostage stamps and postal history of the Caribbean NetherlandsThe three public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba started issuing postal stamps after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The islands form a separate postage region under the name Caribisch Nederland . The first stamp issued showed the maps of the three islands...