International

The SP will no longer attend meetings of the Benelux Parliament. According to SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel, the body, which brings together parliamentarians from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg is a talking shop whose main function seems to be the organisation of jaunts at the taxpayers' expense. It is not to be taken seriously.

In 1991 Argentina opted for an ultraliberal exchange rate policy under which the peso was valued at parity with the US dollar. What this meant in practice was that Argentina was giving up part of its sovereignty, with interest rates determined by the Fed, the US central bank in Washington, DC. In the first instance the new policy appeared to be working out well, but the strength of the dollar at the time made life ever more difficult for Argentine exporters. In 2001 Argentina ended up in deep crisis. The IMF responded by demanding and getting the implementation of draconian cuts, the aim being to maintain the link between peso and dollar. Yet the Argentine currency eventually collapsed, with the peso's value declining by 75%. The enormous price increases which followed led to an equally huge increase in poverty. Exports, however, recovered. The government was, moreover, able after this to stimulate the economy and break with the IMF. Spectacular recovery ensued..