International

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard fears that the EU is conducting negotiations with the US over laws governing the introduction of cloned meat and says she has "concrete evidence", contained in an email which she read out during questions to the European Commission, that discussions with the Americans have been held "on strategies for explaining cloned meat to the broad public". In Brussels this morning, EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli denied that such negotiations had taken place "with the US or with anyone else", and declared that he knew nothing about the e-mail in which they are mentioned. In his reaction to hearing the email read out loud, Dalli referred instead to a “dialogue” to which the Americans had been invited.

Current Dutch policy in relation to soft drugs must be scrapped and the sale and cultivation of soft drugs legalised. So argued SP candidate Michiel van Nispen at today's 'Cannabis Tribunal' in The Hague. Presided over by former national Parliament Chair Frans Weisglas, debate centred on the Netherlands' policies on soft drugs. “Legalising soft drugs would have many advantages," said Van Nispen. "It would in the end be better from a public health point of view, you could keep a more focussed check on things, give information and get cannabis out of criminal circles. Debate over drugs policy has not been possible in the last few years because the governing coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and Labour, have been at each other's throats. That has to change straight after the elections of 9th June."