International

In the spring the Finnish parliament debated giving up the euro and returning to the Markka. Originally it appeared that the Finns might hold a referendum on the issue this autumn, but since then it turns out that even the extreme right ‘True Finns’ party would rather wait to see what the consequences of Brexit will be for the UK and have ruled out a referendum being held this year. So it seems Finland’s speedy withdrawal from the eurozone is off the agenda, but the euro remains nevertheless a shaky project and the Finance Ministers of the countries which use it, presided over by the Netherlands’ own Jeroen Dijsselbloem, would do well to be better prepared for the eurozone’s disintegration than the British were for a possible Brexit.
 

It was revealed this week that the European Commission was taking Germany and France to court in connection with the introduction of a minimum wage for all truck drivers who take on loads within their countries. In the Commission’s view, this would distort competition. This is typical of the tunnel vision which invariably still prevails in Brussels. Now people in most member states have had enough of this marketisation, and Brussels is going to have to change course and curb these unbridled market forces.

The countdown to the UK’s Brexit-referendum has begun. It’s striking how contradictory are the reactions to this here in Brussels. Last week the Polish president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, told a meeting of European Christian Democrat and other centre-right parties that we shouldn’t move too fast on European integration. A few days later the Belgian Liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt asserted that without the UK on board it would be easier to move towards a really federal Europe. This shows how divided the European Union is and how fragile. The SP saw this coming years ago. When we advocate a looser form of cooperation between member states, we are often accused of provincialism, yet it is precisely such a cautious approach which could prevent the whole thing from falling to bits.

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.