Нидерланды обсуждают с Кюрасао введение гибкости в бюджетном планировании для смягчения экономических кризисов

THE HAGUE – Curaçao could eventually receive greater flexibility to use government spending and financial reserves to respond to economic downturns as the Netherlands examines whether the current financial supervision system leaves sufficient room for countercyclical fiscal policy. Under the Kingdom Act on Financial Supervision (Rft), Curaçao must in principle maintain a balanced ordinary budget and compensate for previous deficits. According to the Dutch government, the framework currently provides little or no room for countercyclical fiscal policy. Countercyclical policy allows a government to build financial buffers when the economy is performing strongly and use some of that capacity during a recession or major economic shock. Instead of immediately cutting spending when government revenues decline, authorities could temporarily maintain expenditures or investments to soften the economic impact. The Netherlands now wants to discuss with Curaçao how greater flexibility could be created within the existing legislation, potentially through policy rules clarifying how the financial supervision framework should be applied under different economic circumstances. Such flexibility could be particularly relevant to Curaçao because its small and open economy can be strongly affected by developments outside the island. However, The Hague is making clear that greater fiscal freedom would come with conditions. The Dutch government points to the International Monetary Fund's position that a country should first achieve a sustainable debt ratio before pursuing countercyclical fiscal policies. Without sufficiently healthy public finances, allowing deficits during economic downturns could instead create additional debt problems. The discussion follows a broader evaluation that found mixed results from years of financial supervision and support for the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom. While the system has improved transparency, stability and confidence in public finances, it has been less successful in producing sustainable government finances, consistently meeting budgetary standards and supporting structural economic development. The review is particularly critical of progress in financial management. Despite years of measures and supervision, improvements in this area were judged ineffective, while debt relief, financial supervision and financial agreements were assessed as only moderately efficient. For Curaçao, the debate could ultimately become about more than technical budget rules. It raises the question of whether a small economy should be required to balance its ordinary budget every year regardless of the economic cycle, or whether it should be permitted to accumulate reserves during periods of strong growth and deliberately use them when conditions deteriorate. For now, the Netherlands is not proposing to abandon financial supervision. Instead, it is opening the door to discussing whether the existing system can become more responsive to Curaçao's economic realities while preserving safeguards intended to prevent unsustainable government debt.