International

Every day Raoul can be found in his shop in Rotterdam. He is committed 100% to the business. It’s always a great pleasure to go there, and he’s always got time for a chat. Recently, his tone has been serious. He had been, as have so many of the town’s shopkeepers, the victim of a hold-up. Fortunately no-one was wounded – or worse – but the shock left its mark. The attacker in this case was a homeless man, but in many cases such attacks are carried out by gangs who roam freely across Europe. Tomorrow the SP holds its day dedicated to the interests of small businesses, and one of the topics for discussion will be the best way to tackle this form of criminality. It’s a pity that despite several weeks of enquiring at the Ministry of Security and Justice, we have been unable to find an official willing to come to inform us about cooperation on this matter within Europe. The SP has taken action to try both in our national parliament in The Hague and in the European Parliament to improve protection for shopkeepers. We’ll do so until there’s some sign that Justice Minister Ard van der Steur is just as committed.

Foto: Shirley de Jong

Tomorrow, together with party colleague Sharon Gesthuizen, I will be presenting in the national parliament in The Hague, of which she is a Member, the SP’s plans for small business. The document is entitled 100% Hart voor de Zaak (100% committed, but the phrase has a double meaning, as ‘zaak’ in Dutch can also mean ‘ business’). As business people like to see, we’re as concrete as possible: not vague plans, but concrete proposals. SP leader Emile Roemer and the chair of the main organisation for small and medium-sized businesses in the Netherlands, MKB-Nederland, Michaël van Straalen, will open proceedings. After that a large number of entrepreneurs will take the floor, as what we’ll be doing is looking together at whether our proposals fit the bill and how we can fulfil them, in The Hague and Brussels, because ever more matters depend on European cooperation.

That includes the approach to criminal acts by wandering gangs. As long ago as 2009 MKB-Nederland made me aware of the gravity of the situation, and I’ve also received a great deal of information from the retail industry body Detailhandel Nederland. I brought this in turn to the attention of the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers. A working group was to be established and decisive work was in the offing, but the matter quickly fell off the immediate agenda and I heard no more about it.

So I was already distrustful, as this wasn’t the first time real entrepreneurs had been tossed fine words but no deeds to match. That distrust has since been reinforced, as despite a letter that Detailhandel Nederland and myself sent to Van der Steur, not a single official from the Security and Justice Ministry is willing to come tomorrow to tell us what’s being done about these gangs. Together with the business people I’ll be discussing how we can put further pressure on the Dutch Minister and his colleagues in the European Commission. Raoul and all of his fellow-shopkeepers who have been victims of attacks on their shops deserve as much. And the SP’s watchword is ‘action not words’.