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Blog Dennis de Jong

29 January 2017

Fractie Dennis de Jong:

Points of agreement between Timmermans and Trump

This weekend has a great deal of justified criticism aimed at the policies of brand new US President Donald Trump, in particular his closure of the country’s borders to travellers from a number of Islamic countries. European Commission Vice President (and former Dutch Foreign Minister) Frans Timmermans is amongst those who have already protested. Yet this same Timmermans has co-authored the plan, that appeared this week, aimed at putting a stop to immigration from North Africa. Following the Turkey deal, Timmermans now wants to see a Libya deal. Of course the Commission’s choice of wording is less unpleasant than that of Trump, but the message and its effects will be similar: refugees, find salvation - but elsewhere. It already seems a long time ago that politicians dared assert that people who are persecuted are in need of protection.

22 January 2017

Fractie Dennis de Jong:

Dutch centre-right parties sign pact for European superstate

In the runup to the coming elections for the national parliament, the two centre-right parties, the governing VVD and the opposition CDA, are loudly declaring that they are against a European superstate. That’s what makes it remarkable that so little attention has been paid to the pact concluded by their political groups in the European Parliament, respectively the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), and the European People’s Party (EPP). The pact states that they will work towards amendment of the EU Treaty on the basis of the Verhofstadt Report, which advocates the creation of a European Finance Minister, European taxes, and the extension of the EU’s powers to areas of legislation currently under national control, such as pensions, public services and taxation. What my fellow MEPs Wim van de Camp (CDA) and Hank van Baalen (VVD) are calling for is simply a European government. Think on that when you’re in the polling booth on March 15th.

8 January 2017

Fractie Dennis de Jong:

The week of dishonest men

In a single week in Brussels three dishonest men have been in the news and the only question now is whether they will leave the stage or grow even more powerful. The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, turns out to be even more intensely involved in tax dodging by multinationals than recently seemed to be the case. Austrian Commissioner Günther Oettinger, who was caught not long ago making sexist remarks and has been involved in a case of conflict of interest, is now apparently being envisaged as the new Commission Vice-President. And to make matters worse the big corporations’ champion, Guy Verhofstadt, has declared his candidacy for president of the European Parliament. With friends like these, the EU has no need of enemies.

1 January 2017

Fractie Dennis de Jong:

Building on the ruins

Eurocritical politicians are often put down as gloomy types who are always negative. The opposite is true. If the SP has criticisms to level at the greed merchants in Brussels, it’s because we believe, as do most people in the Netherlands and in Europe, that an end must be put to this neoliberal, interfering, wasteful “Brussels”. We do, however, want to build a Europe in which we cooperate to achieve goals for which there is support, things which are useful. Building on the ruins which European politicians, with the European Commission to the fore, have made of the EU, is a challenge, but it can be done, and with just the same enthusiasm as the Europhiles exhibit in appearing so happy with the actually existing ‘Brussels’.

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