Oyster Pond: the COM approves bill authorizing route agreement

Nearly three years after the signing of the agreement on the border demarcation at Oyster Pond, Paris sent the Collectivité a bill authorizing the approval of this agreement between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The bill was submitted to the Executive Council, whose members gave their approval.
“While the agreement signed on May 26, 2023 does not affect the freedom of movement between the two parts of the island that has been in force for 377 years, the text has significant positive impacts for the Collectivity, both in economic, tourism, and environmental terms, as well as in terms of legal certainty,” according to the COM. However, “the place and role of the COM will need to be clarified and refined with regard to the joint commission for monitoring and maintaining the border,” it is specified. Similarly, “the role of the COM and its elected representatives will need to be clarified and enhanced in the effective implementation [of an article of the agreement which] provides for the conclusion of administrative arrangements while promoting mechanisms that encourage cross-border cooperation, particularly at the local level.”
To enter into force, the bill must be validated by the government and published in the Official Journal of the French Republic. A decree may also be published to formalize its entry into force.
As a reminder, the border runs through the middle of Oyster Pond Bay.