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23 November 2013

Council of Europe accepts SP proposal, urges international enquiry into murder of Iranian resistance fighters in Iraq

The Council of Europe wants to see an independent enquiry into the murder of fifty-two Iranian resistance fighters in Iraq. SP Senator Tiny Kox, on whose initiative the declaration was made, has welcomed the decision. ‘The murdered Iranian resistance fighters in Camp Ashraff in Iraq had, in the view of the United Nations, a right to protection,’ says Senator Kox. ‘It’s a scandal that this act of murder could take place despite this. And it’s good that the Council of Europe, which prioritises human rights, is using its authority to demand an international enquiry.’ The declaration was drawn up in Vienna, where the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which has forty-seven countries as member states, was meeting this week.

23 November 2013

Dennis de Jong nominated to head SP European Parliament election list

The SP party council today nominated Dennis de Jong to lead the party’s list of candidates for the elections to the European Parliament scheduled for next May. De Jong will, should his nomination be confirmed by the national conference in February, be running on a platform which includes a major reduction in the power of the European Commission, strengthening of the role of the broad public and of the member states, and a U-turn in the direction of social policy. ‘The SP wants a democratic Europe and not a technocratic Europe,’ says De Jong. ‘We want to see cooperation between the member states and will resist a central executive in Brussels. We want a social policy instead of a neoliberal policy.’

22 November 2013

The welfare state as ideological theatre of struggle

Ronald van Raak • The welfare state is an historic compromise, the outcome of a struggle between the leading political currents in our country. This ideological struggle continues yet, as is shown by a recently published collection on the future of social security (Mij een zorg! De toekomst van de sociale zekerheid), in which political parties’ research departments give their view of the welfare state’s future. The initiative for this came from the GAK Institute, a body which finances research in the area of social security. This collection will meet the need for a clear view of each party’s political line.

22 November 2013

De Jong: Council of Europe condemns limits on trade union rights by means of internal market rules

On 20th November the Council of Europe, in its long-awaited judgment on the controversial ‘Laval’ court case, confirmed in plain language that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had breached the European Social Charter by making trade union rights subordinate to the free market. The council of Europe represents forty-seven countries in Europe. Responding to the ruling, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: ‘I have this morning asked the European Commission what consequences are attendant upon this verdict. In particular it shows how important it is that the Europe Union should immediately become party to the European Social Charter. Otherwise we will find ourselves in the bizarre situation that member states are being judged by the Council of Europe that member states will be condemned whenever they apply policy for which the Commission of the ECJ is responsible.’

19 November 2013

Parliament supports SP: no nuclear weapons on the Joint Strike Fighter

The JSF, the fighter-bomber which the Netherlands is set to purchase from the USA, must not be given any nuclear tasks, according to a motion proposed by SP Member of Parliament Jasper van Dijk passed today by a majority in Parliament.

19 November 2013

What does the governing centre-right actually want from Europe?

Although Mark Verheijen of the governing centre-right VVD has apologised, he was of course correct when he said that Europhiles such as Guy Verhofstadt, who heads his party’s political group in the European Parliament, and EP President Martin Schultz, represent a major menace to continued support for Europe. But what about the Eurosceptics in his own party? Are they sincere or only thinking of the forthcoming European elections?

International