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News April 2006

30 April 2006

European ‘Spectre of flexibilisation' meets growing resistance

A spectre is haunting Europe: the spectre of flexibilisation. Virtually all European governments are scaring the living daylights out of their countries' citizens with a policy of deteriorating employment contracts, relaxation of laws on dismissal and attacks on pension rights. But in France this spring the people have spoken, telling their government – and with complete success - to take another look.

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28 April 2006

Minister confirms that port services will be exempted from Services Directive

SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang expressed his satisfaction with the contents of a letter he received today from Economic Affairs Minister Laurens Jan Brinkhorst in which Mr Brinkhorst informed him that the government supported the exemption of port services from the terms of the Services Directive, currently under negotiation in the EU Council of Ministers.

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27 April 2006

Poor countries done no favours at WTO negotiations

In the opinion of SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang, the European Union's approach at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations is to ask for too much and offer too little. Irrgang made this clear during a meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and Secretary of State Karien van Gennip. The meeting took place just as the development NGO Oxfam-Novib reported that as things stand developing countries would be better off were the WTO talks to fail completely.

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26 April 2006

SP urges government to protest against secret CIA flights

SP Member of Parliament and foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel is urging the Dutch government to protest against controversial CIA-controlled flights through European airspace. A Committee of Enquiry of the European Parliament has this week confirmed in a report that in recent years hundreds of such flights have been conducted. Commenting on the revelations, Mr van Bommel said: “Spain has asked for an explanation from the US government. That is the least that the Netherlands can do. It would be more appropriate to issue a loud protest."

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26 April 2006

Van Bommel: Europe must not interfere in Dutch criminal law

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is demanding that Secretary of State for European Affairs Atzo Nicolaï resist any further attempts by the European Commission to interfere in Dutch criminal law. “The application of criminal law and punishment of criminals is a national competence in which Brussels has no right to meddle," said Mr Van Bommel. "Member states are surely capable of dealing with this themselves."

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26 April 2006

Open borders: Employment Secretary's climbdown still not enough

Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment Henk Van Hoof is to abandon his plans to complete the opening of borders on 1st May, a move which would have meant allowing in more people from central and eastern europe to be exploited as cheap labour. For the time being the work permit system will be maintained. SP Member of Parliament Jan de Wit, commenting on the climbdown, said: “The Secretary of State has had to make a major change of direction. The unconditional liberalisation of the labour market is off the agenda, and that is to be welcomed. But the measures which he is taking are not going to be effective and are certainly no guarantee of equal pay for equal work.”

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