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Nieuws uit 2009

2 October 2009

Our common interest in the Irish referendum

On 2nd October the Irish people will have the chance to express their views on the Lisbon Treaty, or on the European Constitution minus anthem and flag. It is commendable that the Irish, at least, have the right to speak out on this important treaty. This right has been denied us in our own different countries, in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, for fear of a rejection. At the same time it seems strange that, after the first referendum, in which a clear majority of the population of the Irish Republic voted against the treaty, a second referendum must follow. You would have thought that no was no, and not that any no must eventually be followed by a yes.

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1 October 2009

Afghanistan: Civilian deaths from bombing must be thoroughly investigated

SP foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel has asked the Minister of Defence to launch a thorough and exhaustive enquiry into circumstances surrounding the bombing in Afghanistan by a Dutch F-16 aircraft through which a still unknown number of civilians lost their lives. Following an exchange of fire involving British troops in Lashkar Gah in the province of Helmand, Dutch F-16s were called to support. During the raid that followed, a bomb was dropped on a house, wounding and killing a number of civilians.

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28 September 2009

Albania ‘not yet ready for EU membership’

Albania is clearly not ready for candidate membership of the EU, according to SP Member of Parliament and European affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel. Van Bommel is urging the government not to cast its vote in the Council of Ministers in favour of agreeing to a European Commission request to establish an enquiry into Albania’s possible accession.

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24 September 2009

SP wants to know: “Are Dutch troops coming home from Afghanistan?”

SP Member of Parliament and Foreign Affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel has asked Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen whether the Dutch government intends to hold to its commitment to withdraw the country’s troops from Afghanistan. Van Bommel’s question was prompted by concerns provoked by the minister’s statement, during a news programme broadcast on Wednesday by national radio, to the effect that in his view the Netherlands should give careful thought to the question of whether troops should remain in the Afghan region of Uruzgan after 2011.

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17 September 2009

In Europe too, the ordinary citizen must pay for the crisis

17/09/09 Today, the European Parliament expressed its agreement with the reappointment of the Portuguese conservative Jose Barroso as President of the European Commission, with 382 votes in favour, 219 against and 117 abstentions. The SP voted against.

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10 September 2009

Prolongation of Dutch military presence in Afghanistan? SP demands clarification

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel, the party's spokesman on foreign affairs, has asked Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to comment on reports in the international press to the effect that the Dutch and US governments have agreed that some 500 soldiers from the Netherlands will remain in the Uruzgan region of Afghanistan beyond the originally agreed date of 2010. “The Netherlands has made its contribution," Van Bommel says. "500 soldiers remaining in Uruzgan will simply mean a continuation of the war being fought there."

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