Nieuws van de afdeling

27 March 2013

Van Dijk pleased with stricter checks on arms dealers

Permits to export weapons can henceforth be refused in the event of doubts over the integrity of the applicant. The Senate yesterday signalled its assent to this enhancement of the law, whose name translates as ‘Promoting Integrity Assessments by the Public Executive’ and which is known by its Dutch acronym BIBOB. SP Member of Parliament Jasper van Dijk has been urging the move for some time.

27 March 2013

Roemer: transferring foreign investors’ money from Cyprus cannot be permitted

SP leader Emile Roemer is furious over reports that millions, possibly billions of euros have disappeared from Cyprus while bank accounts on the island remain frozen.

25 March 2013

Merkies: 'Dear deal for Cyprus is mainly buying time’

In the opinion of SP Member of Parliament Arnold Merkies, uncertainty continues to surround Cyprus, despite the agreement reached this evening.

24 March 2013

Iraq war caused huge damage

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel

21 March 2013

EU plans bad for Dutch railways

In the opinion of SP Member of Parliament Farshad Bashir, the European Commission should immediately withdraw its plans for EU railways. ‘According to Brussels the Netherlands must chop its railway network into pieces and sell these pieces off to different rail companies,” says Bashir. “What you would then be left with would be a chaotic patchwork of lines, companies and regulations for which no-one any longer would have responsibility.’

21 March 2013

Council of Europe investigates public service provision

SP Senator Tiny Kox has been appointed rapporteur on ‘the state and public services’ by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in which he leads the United Left Group. The forty-seven member states of the Council of Europe are bound by the treaty which forms the organisation’s basis to preserve ‘social cohesion’ by promoting the welfare of all citizens, countering inequality and limiting differences. The fear exists, however, that through ever-increasing marketisation and constantly growing cuts in public spending, this obligation will be less and less frequently met in Europe.

International