International

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel believes that Prime Minister Mark Rutte should be supporting the European Parliament in its decision at long last to hold fewer meetings in Strasbourg. ‘The journey from Brussels to Strasbourg and back, which costs millions, has been a blot on the landscape for years,’ he says. ‘Now that a decision has at last been taken to hold one meeting fewer per year in Strasbourg, the French are protesting. Rutte must make it clear to France that this waste of money has to stop.’

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong will today attend a showing of the documentary film 'Inside Job' to unveil a number of proposals for ways in which the EU could deal with speculators. ‘The film shows how in the US also the speculators who caused the crisis continue to have a great deal of influence over the government,’ De Jong explains. ‘The same goes for Europe. Even the recently established European supervisory bodies turn out to be under the influence of the financial lobby. So it’s high time to launch a real attack on casino capitalism. My proposals would limit the influence of the financial lobby in Brussels and are aimed also at putting restraints on speculative behaviour.'