Nieuws van de afdeling

22 April 2010

Foreign Minister given task of sending nuclear bombs home to the US

Parliament today gave Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen a clear assignment: he must make it plain to President Obama that American nuclear weapons stationed in Europe are no longer wanted and that they must therefore be withdrawn. SP Member of Parliament, defence spokeswoman Krista van Velzen describes herself as "delighted" that Parliament adopted her motion containing this instruction. "Hillary Clinton left no doubt today that she had not yet understood the message, when she stated that these nuclear weapons would not be going anywhere for the time being," says Van Velzen. "It's now up to Verhagen to go directly to Obama with this pressing demand. This is a chance to take a major step towards a nuclear weapon-free world"

21 April 2010

Green Left's Afghanistan plan: no support from SP

SP Member of Parliament and foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel has told the centre-left Green Left party that their plan for a renewed military mission in Afghanistan will gain no support from the SP. Together with centrist liberals D66, the Green Left wants to see the government looking into the question of whether a police training mission, possibly under Dutch military protection, can be sent to Afghanistan in the coming months. According to Van Bommel, the proposal simply reproduces the kind of mission which led to the government's downfall in February.

21 April 2010

SP Senator Kox: 'EU must join European human rights system as soon as possible'

The sooner the better. That's the Dutch Senate's view on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). During the debate on Europe with government ministers Maxime Verhagen (Foreign Affairs) and Ernst Hirsch Ballin (Justice), SP Senator Tiny Kox referred to the ECHR as 'the only real European Constitution'. The Convention guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all 800 million Europeans, each of whom can have recourse to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

21 April 2010

'No to European Interior Ministry'

The Dutch government must speak out at European level against the establishment of a European Interior Ministry, the equivalent of the British Home Office or US Justice Department. That was the demand put by SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen in a debate with Minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin. Van Velzen described herself as 'astonished' by the news that plans for such a 'ministry' at EU level were already in an advanced stage. "This is a step in the wrong direction, the transfer of such powers to Europe. The EU needs to improve cooperation in the fight against cross-border criminality, but a European Interior Ministry that can conduct independent investigations is unacceptable. The minister should reject this plan.”

20 April 2010

Moving house, coming home

by Harry van Bommel

19 April 2010

European Parliament: SP won't be going to Strasbourg's 'lost plenary'

The SP's European Parliament group has decided not to attend this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. According to the party, the session can already be labelled a failure. During the weekend it became clear that because of the limitations on air travel, it would not be possible for many MEPs to travel, especially those having to come from distant countries. Explaining the decision, SP group Chair Dennis de Jong said, ‘Representation would be skewed because of this. In addition, it's doubtful whether enough MEPs would be available in any case to meet the requirements for a quorum to vote. Travelling to Strasbourg under such circumstances makes no sense."

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