Nieuws van de afdeling

12 November 2013

Senate urges government to reject renunciation of UN convention

'The Netherlands should not be among the first to renounce a UN convention, but rather among the last to do so.’ With this conclusion SP Senator Tuur Elzinga ended his statement calling on Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen to reject the renunciation of the UN Convention on industrial development. Having listened to the Senate’s views, the minister did just that. The Netherlands will thus remain a member of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

10 November 2013

SP Senator Kox: International cooperation must not be free of obligations

Cooperation of countries in North Africa and the Middle East with the Council of Europe must be aimed at strengthening the rule of law, protecting human rights and advancing democracy. Only countries willing to fulfil these obligations can become partners of Europe’s biggest treaty-based organisation, in which forty-seven European states participate. So said SP Senator Tiny Kox at a special conference in Lisbon with delegations from the parliaments of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. Kox, who is president of the European United Left Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, was one of the initiators of the conference.

7 November 2013

Purchase of JSF is historic error

The Labour Party’s huge about-turn regarding the Joint Strike Fighter is a leap into a black hole. This was the view expressed by SP Member of Parliament Jasper van Dijk following the lengthy Parliamentary debate on the controversial decision.

6 November 2013

SP Senator Kox: ‘EU has a blind spot for the negative consequences of labour migration’

‘The government’s proposal to improve the rules on the entry of poorly paid and poorly educated labour from outside the European Union is sensible and has our support. But it is sad that we can no longer, from January 1st, 2014, within the EU establish these kinds of rules when it comes to restricting the entry of Bulgarian and Romanian workers.’ This was how SP Senator Tiny Kox expressed both praise for but also criticism of government policy during the debate in the Senate on the revision of the Law on Foreign Labour.

6 November 2013

De Jong: EU Expert Groups no longer wholly in grip of big firms

A year ago, on an initiative from the SP, the European Commission undertook to effect a thorough reform of the nine hundred EU Expert Groups, bodies appointed to advise the Commission on policy. The aim was to ensure that the groups would no longer be dominated by lobbyists from major corporations, but would also be representative of small business, trade unions, consumer bodies and environmentalist organisations. The group of like-minded MEPs, led by the SP’s Dennis de Jong, who conducted the talks with the Commission, today drew up the balance-sheet of progress made since the undertaking was given. ’it’s not yet time for a celebratory end to our work,’ De Jong stresses. ‘There’s still a great deal missing, which is why we’ve presented the Commission with an updated wishlist. At the same time we’re appreciative of the fact that progress has already been made and that the expert groups operate in a much more transparent fashion than they did a year ago.’

5 November 2013

SP proposals for preserving small shops supported by European Parliament

The Internal Market Committee today adopted the report by SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong on the retail trade. The report will be voted on at the plenary on 10th December and is expected to be carried without further amendment. ‘It’s really important that the available range of shops remain diverse,’ says De Jong. ‘Not only chains, but also independent shops are important to the consumer. In my report I establish that Brussels should not be interfering with local authorities which, by means of diversification policy, want to give small shops a fair chance. They can also help shops via lower taxes, or rent subsidies. A lively shopping street is of enormous importance to a town or village, not only economically but for the social function of a centre.’

International