International

In the election for the European Parliament, the SP won more votes than either of the other two parties on the left of the political spectrum, rising from 7.1% in 2009, the last time voters were asked to elect their MEPs, to 9.6%. Due to a pre-electoral agreement between the two centre-left parties, the Green Left and the PvdA (Labour Party), Labour will retain three seats under a system which allows votes to be transferred between parties if voters are informed of this possibility in advance. The SP held its two seats.

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong today joined transport sector employers’ organisation IRU and trade union federation ETF in sending an urgent letter to EU member states’ transport ministers drawing attention to abuses in international road haulage. ‘European Transport Commissioner Slim Kallas promised that he would make recommendations from MEPs known to his colleagues at national level, but this was just talk, so we in the SP will have to do it ourselves,’ says De Jong.