International

The European Union says that it wants to become a community of values, yet Hungary, a member states, isn’t taking the rule of law at all seriously, in the opinion of SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel.

Last Monday the EU decided to lift all sanctions against Burma, with the exception of an arms embargo. This was not an intelligent decision. The upsurge of religious violence within the country has not been adequately combated by the authorities. Pressure from abroad remains necessary to encourage Burma to continue to make progress, as there have indeed been positive reports regarding an independent press and the freeing of political prisoners; the EU is wrong, however, to abolish sanctions. Many major problems continue to dog the country.