International

The Senate's annual debate on the state of Europe and the European Union – known by its Dutch initials as the AEB – was this year even more important than usual, as SP Senator Bastiaan van Apeldoorn noted in his contribution to the discussion. "On 23rd May we elect the European Parliament in the midst of Brexit, discussions around NATO, China and a European army, and an ever more unpredictable United States under President Trump, he said. “The SP shows that there's more to vote for than on the one side europhoric parties that want nothing more than to give more power to Brussels and on the other side xenophobic nationalists looking to turn their backs on European cooperation and do nothing about cross-border problems.”

Van Apeldoorn was highly critical of the power of Brussels and of the multinationals. "The minister will say that the internal market provides a way for Dutch business to make money,” said Van Appeldoorn. “But is the internal market always good for our society? Is it good for our society if European rules on public tendering stand in the way of our unique system of home helps and of care for young people? Doesn't this argue for a more flexible EU? An EU with more variation, as is also advocated by the official policy advisor to the government, the WRR? And in our view an EU in which Brussels is no longer playing the boss when it comes to matters which the member states can handle very well for themselves? The internal market has principally served to pave the way for enormous economies of scale, and an even greater concentration of economic and thus political power in the hands of multinationals and major banks.”