GREAT BAY-- St. Maarten accounted for the largest share of regular program spending under the Temporary Work Organization, TWO, in 2025, with €9.6 million spent on projects and support connected to the country’s Landspakket reform agenda.
According to the TWO 2025 annual report, titled Koers houden, total TWO spending for the execution of the Landspakketten reached €21.2 million in 2025. Of that amount, €15.5 million was spent on regular program support and project execution, while €5.7 million went toward operational and personnel-related costs of the TWO apparatus.
The €21.2 million total represented an increase compared to 2024, when TWO spending stood at €19.4 million. Spending in 2023 was €19.7 million and in 2022 was €14.2 million.
Of the €15.5 million in regular program spending in 2025, St. Maarten received €9.6 million, compared to €3.6 million for Aruba and €1.9 million for Curaçao. An additional €0.4 million was spent on general themes shared across the reform program.
For St. Maarten, the largest 2025 expenditures were tied to strengthening the public sector, improving financial management, supporting healthcare, transforming the Tax Administration, and advancing economic and social security reforms.
The report states that €2 million was spent on strengthening the human resources function, renewing the IT department and providing technical assistance related to electricity supply. These areas fall under the theme of cost and effectiveness in the public sector.
Another €1.8 million was spent on the Future of Finance program, policy related to government-owned companies and dividends, strengthening financial capacity, and budget accountability. These expenditures fall under the theme of financial management.
Healthcare support also accounted for €1.8 million in regular program spending for St. Maarten. The report lists this under the healthcare theme, which connects to broader reform work aimed at improving the sustainability and effectiveness of health services.
The transformation of the Tax Administration accounted for €1.7 million in spending, while €1.3 million was spent on projects to strengthen the investment and business climate and support the development of the social security system.
The report’s breakdown also lists additional St. Maarten spending under education and strengthening the rule of law. In the chart of regular program expenditures for St. Maarten, the education theme is listed at €168,000, while strengthening the rule of law is listed at €689,000.
The spending overview shows that St. Maarten’s reform support in 2025 was concentrated mainly in five areas: public sector modernization, financial management, healthcare, taxation, and economic reform with social security and labor market development.
The report also notes that, aside from regular program spending, TWO spent €6.2 million in 2025 on special projects. This was higher than the €3.2 million spent on special projects in 2024, but lower than the €7.3 million recorded in 2023.
Operational costs for the TWO in 2025 totaled €5.7 million. According to the report, €3.1 million of that amount was spent on employees working for the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations, €1 million on experts working for the TWO through other Dutch ministries, €1.5 million on secondments, and €86,000 on external hiring.
The report states that regular program spending includes both direct subsidies to the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, as well as expertise contracted by the Netherlands to support the countries.
For St. Maarten, the figures underline the scale of support being directed toward reforms that have been repeatedly identified as central to improving the country’s administrative and economic resilience. These include strengthening government systems, modernizing financial processes, improving taxation, supporting healthcare, and advancing reforms tied to investment, entrepreneurship, social security and the labor market.
The annual report also notes that the information in the report is not accompanied by an accountant’s declaration. It explains that the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations publishes a separate annual report with an approved accountant’s declaration, where TWO expenditures are included under the relevant budget articles.
The 2025 figures place St. Maarten at the center of the TWO’s regular program expenditure for the year, reflecting the extent of ongoing reform work and technical support tied to the Landspakket.
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