On the 10-10-10, the Netherlands Antilles have ceased to exist and the 5 former member islands now have a new political status. Like Bonaire and Statia, Saba has become a Public Entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This new political status is similar to the one of a municipality in the Netherlands. In other words, Saba is now totally integrated in the Dutch Kingdom.
Saban citizens are part of the European Union. Dutch laws are now fully implemented on the island territory. Nevertheless, the application of certain laws will be postponed for a while, sometimes due to a public reticence in the population of Saba. This is for instance the case about Dutch laws concerning abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriages. Those marriages will become valid and gay-couples have the same rights then in the Netherlands from of the 10th of October 2010, but new marriages can only be celebrated in Saba after a period of two years.
Of course, for Saba the new status means an increase of financial support from the Netherlands and the European Union. Support and changes in several fields, like education, garbage collection and recycling, as well as healthcare, have already been announced by the Dutch government. On the other side, changes in the taxation system aren't happy news for everybody, and one will have to wait and see what effects those changes will have on the island's economy.But there is another, important exception:Saba has adopted the US Dollar as new currency!
This article will be updated as soon as more information will be available.
