Nieuws van de afdeling

8 April 2010

Hopeful treaty between Obama and Medvedev demands reactions from the Netherlands

SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen describes herself as 'relieved and delighted' that the Russians and Americans have taken the decision to reduce the size of their nuclear armoury. "After years of stagnation in this matter this is an important step. Let's see if it can be the starting point for more steps forward. The Netherlands too could make an important contribution by returning the US nuclear weapons currently stationed at the Volkel air base to Obama.”

8 April 2010

SP: EU rewards countries for failing to meet obligations to refugees

If the majority in the European Parliament get their way, EU member states who have so far made no moves to resettle refugees would be rewarded for their lack of effort. These member states will receive a bonus of €2000 over and above the fixed sum of €4000 per resettled person which Brussels in already pays. "This creates the impression that we have to bribe member states to get them to take in refugees," says SP European Parliamentary group chair Dennis de Jong.

6 April 2010

SP: Stop the liberalisation of the post

The international umbrella organisation for trade unions is organising a demonstration in Brussels on Wednesday 14th April against the further liberalisation of postal services in the EU. Representatives of postal workers in Europe are calling for a moratorium on any further liberalisation of the post until:

5 April 2010

America gets more civilised

President Obama has saved it: his plan for health care insurance for all Americans has passed in the House of Representaatives. The more than forty million Americans who currently have no form of insurance to cover the costs of health care will now be helped. The United States has thus become a more civilised country. And that's worth a message of congratulations to all those people who have worked for decades to achieve this, as well as to President Obama and the Democratic Party.

2 April 2010

Dennis de Jong and Harry van Bommel on the Lisbon Treaty

On Tuesday 30th March national daily NRC Next carried an interview with SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong on the coming into force of the of the Lisbon Treaty. In the interview Dennis de Jong expresses the view that the SP should deal in a pragmatic fashion with the treaty and the possibilities it might offer for a more social Europe. Harry van Bommel also gives his views on the treaty's coming into force and what it means for the SP.

2 April 2010

Weeklog Kartika Liotard: Hard-hearted

The 'EU year for combating poverty and social exclusion' has become, as a result of a deliberate action by the Netherlands, nothing more than a sop. The two governing coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and the Christian Union, both of which are always preaching 'love thy neighbour', profited from the plethora of attention paid to the Greek euro and came out of it smelling of roses. The 80 million Europeans who can't cover their own basic needs have been driven even further down into the margins of a hard existence by this political prank.

International