Nieuws van de afdeling

28 November 2011

Leijten: ‘Turn the Olympic subsidy tap off’

SP Member of Parliament Renske Leijten is urging the government to put a stop to the subsidy to the organisation of the 2028 Olympic Games in the Netherlands. ‘I’d like to hold this cabinet to its own mantra,’ she says ‘that a good product sells itself. If the Olympic Games are so profitable, then it shouldn’t be hard to find partners in the private sector.’

28 November 2011

Council of Europe looks on as Russia votes

Tiny Kox

24 November 2011

De Jong demands referendum on European Economic Government

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong has called for a referendum in the Netherlands on plans fro a European Economic Government. ‘The eurocrisis plans of the European Commission and EU heads of government follow one after the other ever more rapidly,’ he said. ‘It’s now or never. I want the Dutch people to be given the chance, as rapidly as is practical, to express their views via a referendum on the proposals for an Economic Government.’

24 November 2011

De Jong: European Commission has a calculator but no heart

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong has described new proposals from the European Commission as ‘the latest example of European budget fetishism’. They are, he says, ‘aimed lopsidedly at budgetary discipline. With these measures the European Commission is trying to resolve the Eurocrisis with a calculator and no heart.’ In the SP’s view the proposals are technocratic and fail to understand that intelligent policy always demands a consideration of a range of interests. As De Jong says ‘ you don’t need a degree in economics to know that if every member state cuts its spending at the same time, the whole of Europe will have to deal with negative economic growth. What we’re risking here are years of recession.’

23 November 2011

Van Bommel: ‘Human rights lose out to trade interests’

After years during which the foreign policy of the Netherlands was guided by human rights, trade policy has now gained the upper hand. That was SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel ‘s main criticism of Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal during today’s debate on the Foreign Affairs budget.

23 November 2011

Dutch government recognises euro was full of flaws

Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager considers that ‘with the knowledge we have now the euro would not have been introduced.’ During the annual debate on the national budget in the Senate, De Jager told SP Senator Geert Reuten that there were many flaws in the euro which it was now difficult to do anything about. At the time of the euro’s introduction these flaws were pointed out by a large number of sceptical economists as well as by the SP. Then, they weren’t listened to. But now...

International