The joint Dutch and Antillean governments have decided that the Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands by 10 October 2010. In a meeting on Curaçao, the islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba agreed to become Dutch municipalities. On the same date, 10-10-10, Curaçao and the Dutch half of St Maarten will become independent countries within the Kingdom, on an equal footing with the European Netherlands and with Aruba, which gained its "status aparte" in 1986. The other half of St Maarten remains French.

The previous semi-independence arrangement between the Dutch national government and its former Caribbean colonies dated from 1954 and was due for renewal.
 

The Netherlands' Deputy Interior Minister Ank Bijleveld warned that a lot of work remains to be done following Wednesday's Curaçao agreement. The parliaments in The Hague and Willemstad, Curaçao, need to pass a number of laws, and administrative bodies for Curaçao and St Maarten need to be founded.
 

The Dutch government also wants assurances that rampant crime on Curaçao and St Maarten will be fought harder. Dutch police detectives will continue to be active in the kingdom's new countries.
 

Also on Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Kees de Jager said that the Tax Office is about to target people who have money stashed away in accounts with the First Curaçao International Bank, which he called "a transaction point for very substantial payments". Some 100 Dutch account holders there will be asked to explain where their money came from.

Curaçao (Photo: FlickR/Paul Packmore)