International

Enormous cuts in the defence budget mean that the government must inevitably authorise participation in fewer international military missions. The so-called ‘level of ambition’ must be reduced to match available resources, according to SP Member of Parliament Jasper van Dijk, who intends to make the point during tomorrow’s debate on defence personnel.

The European Commission has proposed new rules governing lobbyists in policy advice committees, or expert groups as they are known. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong has in recent months been heavily involved in the development of these rules but describes himself as ‘extremely disappointed by the final outcome. Major corporations will still dominate the back-rooms of Brussels. Only recently I heard an example of this from Greenpeace, how they were kept out of an expert group by pressure from the industry lobby, which is just what I’ve heard before from consumer organisations and bodies representing small businesses.`