Nieuws van de afdeling

19 September 2010

Council of Europe: grave concerns over Bosnia-Herzegovina

On 3rd October, fifteen years after the end of the Bosnian war (1992 – 1995), the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina will go to the polls to elect a new national parliament, two state parliaments and presidents of both the country as a whole and its constituent states. 'More than half of the voters are threatening to stay away,' says SP Senator Tiny Kox, who is leading the Council of Europe's team of election observers. 'Fifteen years after horrors such as occurred in Srebrenica, confidence in the future is minimal.' Kox has spent the last week visiting the country and speaking with a large number of those involved in the forthcoming elections.

9 September 2010

Postal workers in protest against liberalisation as European Parliament votes for enquiry into effects

Yesterday, some two hundred postal workers from throughout Europe joined a protest outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg against the planned further liberalisation of the postal market. Following the demonstration, they were joined by MEPs and national MPs from social democratic, green and socialist parties at a special meeting organised by SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, where the parliamentarians heard about the consequences of the liberalisation policy: mass redundancies, social devastation and poorer service. Today, MEPs responded to the demonstration by calling for a thorough enquiry into the results of liberalisation for workers and consumers.

8 September 2010

De Jong: outcome of debate on discrimination against same sex couples good first step

Yesterday evening saw a debate in the European Parliament on the rights of same-sex couples who move to a different member state. During the debate, which took place on the initiative of the SP, Commissioner Vivienne Reding acknowledged that in European law everyone who took advantage of freedom of movement must have the same rights.

7 September 2010

De Jong disappointed by Barosso’s empty speech

President of the European Commission Jose Barroso today gave his ‘State of the Union’ address at the European Parliament. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong had low expectations of Barroso’s speech and these were fully met. ‘Barroso talks a lot but says little, he uses long words and expresses big ideas, but comes out with no new, concrete plans,’ says De Jong.

3 September 2010

‘De Waal negligent in role as chair of development group's supervisory board'

Employees of the state-subsidised aid organisation the SNV are up in arms against the extraordinarily high salaries paid to the group's management, and have condemned the group's supervisory board's defence of the salaries. According to SP Member of Parliament and development spokesman Ewout Irrgang, the board, under the chairmanship of former trade union leader Lodewijk de Waal, has been negligent in allowing the increases to go ahead.

31 August 2010

Dennis de Jong calls for intelligent EU migration policy

Dennis de Jong at the opening of the exhibition

At the opening of the exhibition 'On the line - Cases of Global Migration' by journalist-photographer Piet den Blanken, SP-Euro-MP Dennis de Jong launched a stinging attack on the EU's one-sided approach to the problem of migration. At the exhibition refugees, legal and illegal workers from throughout Europe and beyond are portrayed at the EU's borders. In his address opening the event, De Jong said “ever since the mid-1990s the European Commission has recognised that there is a need for a comprehensive solution to the migration problematic. In practice, however, all efforts have been directed at the strengthening of border controls. That's short-sighted and leads to degrading situations.”

International