Are the EU Directives (R&TTE and EMC) applicable in the Dutch Caribbean?

The government has decided that the Caribbean Netherlands will maintain the same status with regard to EU regulations as it has now. In the EC Treaty, the Netherlands Antilles have the so-called status of Overseas Territories (OCTs). This means that in principle EU law does not apply to the Caribbean Netherlands, just like the other countries other than the Netherlands in the Kingdom, unless it has been explicitly declared applicable. The R&TTE Directive was not in force on the Netherlands Antilles and after October 10th, it is still not in force in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The current import restrictions remain valid as long as there is still an OCT status (so EU rules do not apply unless...) for the Caribbean Netherlands. In the Dutch Telecommunications Act, the ‘placing on the market’ does not apply to the Caribbean Netherlands. After all, the Caribbean Netherlands is not part of the EEA, but in this context, it is a so-called third party country.