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Nieuws uit 2009

18 December 2009

Centre-right votes against greater transparency in EU

The SP group in the European Parliament was today amongst those who successfully proposed a resolution calling for more openness in making documents available to the public, as well as to researchers and journalists. During the vote, the centre-right Christian Democrats, including the Dutch governing party the CDA, were almost alone in their opposition. Yet when the issue was debated earlier in the week the spokeswoman for the Christian Democrats, Renate Sommer, accused other political groups of using ‘underhand practices’ to block the resolution. “Her attitude is unworthy of a Member of the European Parliament,” says SP group leader Dennis de Jong. “That the CDA did not distance itself from such behaviour and that it voted against the Parliament’s transparency initiative is extremely disappointing."

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16 December 2009

Senate: Justice Minister acted incorrectly in EU Council of Ministers

Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin acted incorrectly at the 30th December meeting of the Council of Ministers of the European Union when, on behalf of the Netherlands, he gave his approval to two EU decisions without waiting for the legally obligatory go-ahead from the Dutch national Senate, the ‘Eerste Kamer’ (literally, First Chamber’). By consciously ignoring its right to vote, Hirsch Ballin failed to respect the Senate’s constitutional role.

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16 December 2009

SP calls for enquiry into future of factory farming

A parliamentary commission should be established to look into the future of factory farming, SP Member of Parliament Henk van Gerven proposed during today’s debate in the Dutch national parliament on approaches to the problem of Q-fever, the latest of a series of maladies to affect farm animals in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries. “After mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, swine fever and now Q-fever, it’s high time that we had a thorough rethink regarding the future of intensive livestock farming. We are constantly treating the symptoms, instead of looking into the causes. A commission is needed to look at how we can prevent this kind of outbreak in the future. Carrying on along the present course is not an option.”

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15 December 2009

Europe must react to ban on Turkish-Kurdish party

Europe must not watch silently from the sidelines as Turkey’s Constitutional Court bans the Kurdish political party the DTP. At the request of SP Senator Tiny Kox, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is for this reason working on a declaration against the undermining of Turkish democracy.

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15 December 2009

Parliament supports limits on cuts to funds for fight against Aids

Parliament today adopted a proposed amendment to the budget which will limit any cut to Dutch state funding for the UN organisation to combat Aids. The proposal was an initiative from SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang, together with MPs from the Christian Democrats, two small Christian parties, and the centrist D66.

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14 December 2009

To help small businesses, public authorities and big firms must pay bills faster

Late payments cost the economy billions yearly, sums which absolutely cannot be afforded in these times of economic crisis. The European Commission’s proposal to ensure that public authorities pay up more quickly can therefore count on support from the SP. The SP believes, however, that it should go further, and add a proviso that firms should also pay each other within thirty days of being billed. European Parliamentary group leader for the SP Dennis de Jong explains: “A term of thirty days backed up by a ‘fine’ when payment is not received on time would be a good rule. I find it incredible, however, that the Commission, referring to ‘freedom of contract’, is not willing to extend this rule to contracts between firms.”

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