International

On Friday 1st May the SP will kick off its campaign for the European Parliament elections which take place on 4th June. SP national Chair and former leader Jan Marijnissen, current leader Agnes Kant and Dennis de Jong, number one on the list of candidates, will use what will be a festive gathering to explain why the SP's campaign slogan is 'The Netherlands wants less Brussels'.

The SP will put its knowledge and experience at the disposal of the Irish 'no' campaign, which is calling on the Irish people to reject the Lisbon Treaty. The European Union is investing €180 million in the hope of persuading the Irish to say 'yes' to a treaty which they have already rejected once. The SP sees this as misuse of taxpayers' money and, in response, is looking to lend the 'no' camp its support, offering it the benefit of the experience gained in the successful campaign for a 'no' vote in the Netherlands' own referendum of 2005, which resulted in the rejection of the European Constitution, a proposal almost identical to the Lisbon Treaty.