THE HAGUE, 10/10/03 - The Netherlands Antilles is to check up on whether young people wanting to come to the Netherlands actually have a guardian, Kingdom Relations Minister Thom de Graaf said yesterday in parliament. But like a majority of MPs, he considers it too early for supplementary requirements such as work prospects.

Christian democratic (CDA) MP Sterk is seriously concerned about the situation of 'prospectless' Antillean youth in the Netherlands, by which she meant criminals. Pleas that they should show on departure that they have arranged work in the Netherlands or are to take a course there were however found premature by CDA's coalition partners, the conservatives (VVD) and center-left (D66). They want to await a memorandum which Integration Minister Rita Verdonk will send to parliament at the year-end.

De Graaf also wants to be patient. He did acknowledge finding it a "strange discrepancy" that Dutch people who go to the Antilles or Aruba have to meet stricter requirements than "Kingdom mates coming in this direction. " He warned however there would be an enormous influx of Antilleans from the moment the Netherlands would decide to impose more stringent entry requirements.

The minister stated he is content for the time being with pre-boarding checks in which the Antillean authorities will check that minors coming to the Netherlands do really have a guardian. This is currently scarcely checked at all. Underage persons unable to prove that a guardian awaits them in the Netherlands will not be allowed on board.

De Graaf also promised the House he would press the Antillean and Aruban governments for recognition of homosexual marriages carried out in the Netherlands. They do not currently recognize these, thereby infringing the Kingdom Statute.