Nieuws van de afdeling

22 August 2011

Irrgang urges debate on ‘new smokescreen for Finnish collateral’

‘Either the smoke from the fifty billion euro blunder has still not lifted or Prime Minister Rutte is creating a new smokescreen around the collateral on the Greek loans. Rutte voted at the European Council Summit in favour of allowing negotiations on collateral on the loans to Greece. But our government in fact finds it an unwise idea and rejects its practical elaboration by Finland and Austria. There’s no following this any more!’ So says SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang in reaction to the note to Parliament from the government concerning the commotion created by the collateral demanded by Finland in exchange for new loans to Greece. The SP is demanding a debate this week with Rutte and Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager in order to clear up precisely what the PM voted for at last month’s summit.

21 August 2011

Roemer at European crisis meeting: ‘Not less, but more democracy is what we need’

This weekend SP leader Emile Roemer hosted an international gathering in Amsterdam on the economic and political crisis in Europe. Representatives of sister parties from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Portugal and Cyprus were among the participants. The major theme of their talks: how to find a social way out of the crisis.

21 August 2011

'Fifty billion out: blunder or deception?'

Has Prime Minister Mark Rutte committed a blunder in his explanation of Greece’s support package? Or has he made a conscious attempt to mislead the people by setting the figure for expenditure lower than it really was? This is the question that SP leader Emile Roemer answered during the debate over the crisis in the Eurozone and Rutte’s ‘slip’ over the billions in aid to Greece.

21 August 2011

The Modern Left in Europe

Last Friday and Saturday I took part in an informal meeting with a number of our European sister parties. Many of these parties are in the United Left group in the European Parliament, to which the SP also belongs. This meeting was, however, not to be compared to those in the EP: at last there was time for an informal and honest debate over the way forward in Europe. The general drift was that we as the left must continue to make it clear to everyone that the present crisis was caused in its entirety by the right. In order to get back on our feet, the left must take the initiative and attack casino capitalism at its heart. At the same time only the left can ensure that the bill for the crisis goes to the speculators and the highest earners, and that we restore a healthy welfare state.

18 August 2011

A unified Eurozone cannot be maintained

European governments have for months allowed the financial markets to lay down the law. In the judgement of Dennis de Jong, countries such as Spain and Italy cannot be rescued within the current Eurozone. In addition, the financial markets must be subject to restraints.

15 August 2011

'Don’t aid the mafia by burning waste from Naples’

SP Member of Parliament Henk van Gerven is urging the government to reject plans for the import of waste from Naples for processing by Dutch firms. The waste processing companies want to bring some of the rubbish piling up in the Italian city to the Netherlands for incineration. ‘Carting waste around is always unnecessary,’ says Van Gerven, ‘but it is particularly bad if by doing so we are going to the aid of the Italian mafia.’

International