Country (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
A country is an autonomous part of the state Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Dutch Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ).
The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four countries ( Dutch landen ): the Netherlands (in German plural, Dutch Nederland , singular; mainly in Europe , also in the Caribbean ) and Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten (only in the Caribbean ).
The Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden applies to all countries of the Kingdom . Each country also has its own basic legislation ( Dutch grondwet in the Netherlands or staatsregeling in the other countries), which together with the statute form the constitution of the respective country. The grondwet also applies in the Caribbean countries as far as Kingdom affairs are concerned.
The countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are autonomous, but not sovereign states. Matters that are not governed by the countries but by the kingdom include sovereignty , defense and nationality .
history
Countries have existed in the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1954. At that time, the Netherlands and its colonies, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname, became countries through the statute . The kingdom now had three countries.
In 1975 Suriname became a sovereign state. The kingdom henceforth had two countries.
In 1986, Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles and became an independent country. The kingdom now had three countries again.
In 2010 the country of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became independent states, Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba became part of the Netherlands as special municipalities. The kingdom has four countries since then.
countries
Netherlands
The constitution of the Netherlands consists of the Statuut and the Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden .
The country, which is predominantly in northern western Europe, is bounded there by the North Sea in the north and west, Belgium in the south and Germany in the east.
Together with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands form the Benelux Union. The Netherlands is a founding member of the coal and steel union from 1951, from which several successors and in 1992 the European Union (EU) developed.
Special communities
Since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles , the islands of Bonaire (with Klein Bonaire ), Sint Eustatius and Saba (with Green Island ) have formed three special municipalities within the Netherlands. In contrast to the municipalities in the European part of the country, the islands do not belong to any province, but are directly subordinate to the country. Special legislation applies to the islands.
Flag of Bonaire
Flag of Sint Eustatius
Flag of Saba
Aruba
The Constitution of Aruba consists of the Statute and the State Regulations of Aruba .
Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and was granted the status of an autonomous country within the kingdom ( status aparte ). The political and social structure of the country therefore developed independently earlier than in the other Caribbean countries.
Curacao
The constitution of Curaçao consists of the statute and the state regulation of Curaçao .
The country of Curaçao consists of the main island and the minor island Klein Curaçao .
Sint Maarten
The constitution of Sint Maarten consists of the statute and the state rules of Sint Maarten .
The country of Sint Maarten consists of the southern part of the Caribbean island of St. Martin as well as a few small uninhabited side islands and rocks (Guana Key, Cow & Calf, Hen & Chickens, Molly Beday and Pelikan Key).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wetten.nl - Regeling - Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden - BWBR0002154. In: overheid.nl. Wetten.overheid.nl, accessed on March 11, 2017 (Dutch).
- ↑ Wetten.nl - Regeling - Grondwet - BWBR0001840. In: overheid.nl. Wetten.overheid.nl, accessed on March 12, 2017 (Dutch).
- ↑ Staatsregeling van Aruba accessed on March 12, 2017 (ned.)
- ↑ Staatsregeling van Curaçao accessed on March 12, 2017 (ned.)
- ↑ Staatsregeling van Sint Maarten accessed on March 12, 2017 (ned.)