Nieuws van de afdeling

19 July 2013

De Jong: OECD action plan strikes blow to tax haven Netherlands

The club of rich industrialised countries, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today presented its proposals to counter tax evasion and tax avoidance to the G20, the informal body which brings together Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from twenty major economies. Should these proposals be adopted, the SP believes that an end will be brought to many of the practices of the Netherlands and others who foster such tax dodging. ‘The OECD wants to put an end to the secret agreements between multinationals and tax offices,’ says De Jong. ‘That’s a matter which both the Dutch and the European Parliaments have hammered away at for years. According to the action plan the OECD intends to inventorise its member states’ practices and by the end of 2014 at the latest establish a system of oversight. After that states will be obliged to fully inform each other about all tax agreements. That’s an important step forwards, but I want to see this information then being made available to parliaments, because otherwise we will still have no way of gaining any insight, in our role as the people’s representatives, into what precisely is going on.’

16 July 2013

Free Trade Agreement between EU and US a race down the waste pipe

This week saw the start of negotiations between the EU and the US on a free trade agreement. The SP is opposed to this proposed treaty, as SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong explains. ‘The words ‘free trade agreement’ are completely misleading,’ he says. ‘It’s nothing to do with the traditional lowering of tariffs, as these are already relatively low. What the agreement is seeking to achieve is the creation of a huge internal market such as now exists within the European Union. Without effective guarantees on social rights, the environment and food security and safety, this will be the starting gun for a race down the drain.’

10 July 2013

Roemer: 'Dijsselbloem must reject Brussels plans for banking union’

According to SP leader Emile Roemer the European Commission’s recent proposal for a European Banking Union is a massive step in the wrong direction. ‘If it’s left to the Commission,’ he explains, ‘the Dutch banks which we have kept afloat with our taxes will soon be paying up to save banks in other countries.’

8 July 2013

Van Bommel: Where has Dutch aid money for Srebrenica gone?

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is demanding an enquiry into the millions that the Netherlands has poured into Srebrenica. Widespread corruption means that Dutch aid money for Srebrenica may not reach the people, while hundreds of refugees continue to wait for available accommodation so that they can return to the town.

4 July 2013

SP: 'Governing coalition parties offering too little help to Syrian war refugees’

For SP Member of Parliament Sharon Gesthuizen, Secretary of State For Security and Justice Fred Teeven is giving too little attention to the life-threatening problems by which some 1.7 million Syrian refugees are beset. Referring to the United Nations High Council for Refugees (UNHCR), she says that the organisation ‘has issued an urgent call to the European Union to take in 12,000 Syrian refugees in urgent need or to offer them temporary asylum. I couldn’t believe my ears when Teeven told me this week that the Netherlands is willing to offer aid to no more than 150 refugees in 2013. That’s 2% of the total requested – truly unbelievable!'

3 July 2013

EU fraud watchdog OLAF still under fire

03-07-2013 • The European Parliament today voted on the work of EU fraud watchdog OLAF. In particular, the sloppy way in which it conducted the investigation into former European Commissioner John Dalli and the violent quarrel between Italian OLAF chief Giovanni Kessler and the supervisory committee are making it necessary to tighten OLAF’s reins still further. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, commenting on the matter, said ‘it’s clear that in the Dalli affair serious mistakes were made. It’s disappointing that the European Parliament has not chosen to tighten up the rules, but it has at least confirmed that a great deal must change at OLAF and that’s something.’

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