Nieuws van de afdeling

19 January 2011

New Afghan mission is American idea

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel has to his astonishment learnt of the existence of an American telegram dated 24th February, which was passed to state broadcasting news service NOS by Wikileaks. The telegram reveals that on the day that the last government fell, Karel van Oostrom, a close adviser to then prime minister Jan-Pieter Balkenende, informed the PM that he would make ‘discreet contact ‘ with the US government and with NATO with the aim of making possible a renewed Dutch mission in Afghanistan. ‘The Afghanistan mission now being presented turns out to be an American idea. The mission appears to be a copy of the plan that the Americans cooked up together with the last government. Otherwise, you’d have to attribute the American Embassy diplomat with almost prophetic powers.’

19 January 2011

Government adopts SP proposal, bans investment in cluster munitions

The Senate yesterday ratified the international treaty against cluster munitions. At the same time the Netherlands Parliament’s upper house called on Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal and Defence Minister Hans Hillen to take more action against banks and investors which invest in firms which manufacture and distribute these horrific weapons.

19 January 2011

De Jong demands EU guarantees of humane asylum policy

Asylum procedures in several EU member states are unsatisfactory, according to the SP in the European Parliament. In some countries there are major problems with reception, and in others problems with the procedure for assessing asylum applications. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is therefore asking the European Commission for guarantees that it will not give way to pressure from a number of member states which are unwilling to process reception and application for asylum together. In the De Jong’s view ‘the member states, instead of individual proposals, should deal with the whole package in one go.’

18 January 2011

De Jong: debate on the Euro’s future has been thoroughly undemocratic

The European Commission is refusing to allow research to be conducted into a range of possible scenarios for the future of the Euro, despite the fact that the emergency fund to which every Dutch citizen has already contributed an average €2,000 will shortly be increased. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong describes this course of events as ‘thoroughly undemocratic’: ‘The public has the right to know what is going to happen to their money,’ he says.

16 January 2011

New European Commission code of conduct still too vague

The new Code of Conduct for European Commissioners recently sent by the Commission to the European Parliament includes some improvements, but remains far from satisfactory. Commenting on the new text, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: ‘The Parliament is being consulted by the Commission as to our opinion. As far as I’m concerned we should be immediately presenting proposals to sharpen this text up, because the existing Code of Conduct leaves far too much to interpretation. Until it’s sharpened up the Parliament should not release the ex-Commissioners’ pensions.”

13 January 2011

Where is the Euro going? The public must have a voice in deciding

The European Commission and the member states’ heads of government can think of only one medicine for the sick Euro: deep spending cuts under stricter European supervision. SP-Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, on the other hand, wants the European Parliament’s Crisis Committee to put all possible scenarios before the European public with research on all the advantages and disadvantages attendant upon each. ‘A European economic government which keeps the member states on a tight rein is only one possible scenario for the future,’ he says. ‘I want to talk about alternatives as well and put these before the people.’

International