Extension of corona loans Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten
The loans of a total of more than one billion euros that the Netherlands provided to Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten as emergency support during the Corona pandemic will be refinanced and remain interest-free. That is what the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom decided today.
The Netherlands came to the aid of the countries within the kingdom during the pandemic. With, among other things, medical care but also financially. It lent EUR 441.7 million (Aruban florin 915.5 million) to Aruba, EUR 448.2 million (Antillean guilder 911 million) went to Curaçao, while St. Maarten received EUR 292.4 million (Antillean guilder 141.7 million).
The interest-free loans were needed so that the countries could continue to pay their bills during the pandemic and subsidize corporate wage costs. For example, bankruptcies and unemployment were prevented when tourism disappeared due to COVID.
These liquidity loans run until the 10th of April 2022. The financial economic situation has not yet recovered enough that repayment of the loans would be possible. That is why it has been decided to extend the interest-free loans by 18 months. The intention is to use that time to make long-term agreements about the repayment.
In addition, it was discussed in the Council of Ministers that no liquidity support is needed from the countries for the second quarter.