International

It's terrific that 800 million Europeans can see their human rights set down and can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they believe that their rights have been abridged. More than 130,000 people have a case before the Court. But it would be so much better if human rights for everyone everywhere were guaranteed and protected. We are at best half-way there. What we need to do is together look into how we can help people elsewhere so that they get what we got here in Europe sixty years ago - enforceable rights for everyone.' So said SP Senator Tiny Kox at the celebration in Strasbourg today of sixty years of existence of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

As things stand the European Parliament has no rules restricting the acceptance of gifts by its members. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong therefore used the opportunity of a conference on transparency in lobbying this afternoon to urge the adoption of a code of conduct for MEPs. De Jong: ´A parliamentarian can at present accept a car or an all-expenses-paid jaunt without a word being said. I want to see a maximum value for presents introduced as soon as possible, of say €50, as well as obligatory on-line publication of any such gifts.'