Nieuws van de afdeling

16 January 2013

Budget fetishism may be losing ground in Brussels

For the first time since the onset of the financial crisis, Brussels seems to be taking a step back from budget fetishism. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong notes with approval that the European Parliament has at last acknowledged, albeit cautiously, that Europe cannot escape the crisis with austerity measures alone. ‘Even right wing hardliners have been forced to recognise that the ongoing austerity policy has thrown the economy deeper into crisis. Today’s acknowledgement of the importance of public investments and social provisions to address shocks in the economy is a tardy but significant turnaround in the approach to the crisis.’ In the SP’s view the motion represents an important signal to our Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem and his colleagues that a different economic policy must be put on the agenda. It was accompanied, moreover, by the announcement by European Commission President Jose Barroso that he intends to propose a social investment programme.

10 January 2013

De Jong: EU must take action for Syrian refugees

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is demanding immediate action from the European Union and its member states to help the more than a million people who have fled their homes in Syria. ‘According to the UN Refugee Agency the situation is getting completely out of hand,’ says De Jong. ‘Some groups of refugees, particularly Palestinians who have been residing in Syria, have no access to reception camps in the region. For refugees who can reach the camps, it appears that the most essential items, such as a dry shelter and adequate food and water, are lacking. The EU member states have to date been able to play no role in arriving at a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. If the EU now in addition doesn’t succeed in finding a humanitarian solution to the problem of the refugees, it would be a clear admission of failure.’

9 January 2013

Dutch Finance Minister’s candidature for Chair of Eurogroup ‘contrary to country’s interests’

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is completely opposed to the candidature of the country’s Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, for the position of Chair of the Eurogroup, fearing that the chances of the Netherlands being able to take a hard line in negotiations in Brussels would be seriously weakened if he were elected. ‘It would make it a bit more difficult for him to hold the line if at the same time, in his position as Chair, he would have to be seen to be seeking a compromise, Van Bommel points out. ‘His nomination will lead to less room for manoeuvre for the Netherlands in the European negotiations game. So this candidature is completely contrary to Dutch interests.’

5 January 2013

SP demands end to EU subsidies for multinationals

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel wants to see multinationals disqualified from receiving EU subsidies designed to contribute to the development of poorer regions and to this end is calling for a tightening up of the rules governing such subsidies. Van Bommel’s demands were made in response to today’s revelations in the national daily Trouw regarding the use of EU subsidies in Poland. ‘This is the umpteenth example I’ve seen of EU wastefulness,’ says Van Bommel. We have already seen how agriculture subsidies are being paid to golf clubs and to the English royal family. Now money meant to help unemployed people in poor member states is being spent on luxury courses for managerial staff of profit-making corporations such as Unilever, Pepsi, Mercedes Benz and Deutsche Bank. EU subsidies aren’t supposed to be used to beef up the profits of big firms and the European rules should ban this.’

19 December 2012

European Parliament supports SP in demanding action on contracts which keep franchise-holders in stranglehold

Voting on 18th December in the European Parliament Internal Market Committtee demonstrated broad support for SP proposals aimed at putting an end to contracts which maintain franchise holders in a stranglehold. Commenting on the vote, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: ‘Now the European Commission is charged with reforming EU legislation so that franchise-holders regain the decision-making freedom enjoyed by business people.’

19 December 2012

Put the brakes on biofuels

It’s time to call a halt to the practice of mixing fuels from biomass sources into motor fuels. So said SP Member of Parliament Henk van Gerven during Tuesday afternoon’s debate with Secretary of State for the Environment Wilma Mansveld. The anticipated leap forward to a new generation of biofuels has never materialised, which means that large amounts of food crop plant materials must still be employed. ‘Producing biofuels without making use of food crop plants hasn’t been a success,’ says Van Gerven, ‘so we should simply be taking a step back. The SP would sooner see mouths filled than petrol tanks.’

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