International

“The government is quite correct to reject European legislation in the area of labour law,” said SP Member of Parliament and disability spokesman Paul Ulenbelt yesterday in a meeting between the Tweede Kamer, parliament’s main legislative chamber, and the newly-appointed Minister of Social Affairs, Christian Democrat Piet Hein Donner. This does not, however, put an end to the matter. The European Commission is launching a new attack on workers’ job security, going all out for further flexibilisation of the labour market. “The Netherlands must offer the strongest possible resistance to this,” Mr Ulenbelt said.

The SP's Euro-MPs have declared their complete opposition to EU-directed market-testing in health care. In the guise of furthering patient mobility, pressure is coming from a range of EU bodies to force health care to come under the rules of the internal market in services.