Nieuws van de afdeling

14 February 2010

'Revolving door' adviser damages EFSA's image

A former employee of the European Food Safety Authority who worked in the area of genetic technology is now an EU lobbyist for Syngenta. Is that possible, just like that? According to Kartika Liotard, Member of the European Parliament for the SP, it should not be. It creates the impression of an entanglement of interests, she argues.

11 February 2010

SP: European policy on gambling: 'Don't bet on profit – play it safe'

The SP in the European Parliament today declared its firm opposition to a free market approach to online gambling. Group leader Dennis de Jong said: "Gambling generally means forking out, because, as a gambler, for the most part you lose. It has far too romantic an image, but especially for young people, becoming addicted is a real threat. Not only that, but gambling is a multi-billion euro business which is too often associated with criminal activities. We shouldn't be gambling on profit, but playing it safe."

10 February 2010

SP stands up for consumers' rights

Consumers must have easier ways of enforcing rights when they become the victim of restrictive practice agreements between corporations, says Dennis de Jong, leader of the SP group in the European Parliament.

9 February 2010

Liotard: Stop trade in polar bears

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard called during a debate on Tuesday in Strasbourg for the EU to ban the commercial trade in polar bears. “Do it before it's too late. This trade, and habitat loss through climate change, represent a major threat to the survival of this species."

9 February 2010

Government reaction to Davids Commission Report on Iraq 'unsatisfactory'

SP leader Agnes Kant has described the government's reaction to the Davids Report on the invasion of Iraq as "unsatisfactory". Kant's view is that "the cabinet still does not acknowledge that even with what was known at the time, the war should have been seen as illegal. In addition, Parliament was insufficiently and incorrectly informed. I don't see recognition of this in the government's statement either."

9 February 2010

SP: 'most right-wing Commission ever'

The most right-wing Commission ever will have to win approval from the European Parliament today without the support of the SP, which from the beginning has judged it too neoliberal, as SP European Parliament group leader Dennis de Jong explains. "Of course you have to be realistic," he concedes, "but that the European Commission consists of people who see the free market not as the cause of the crisis, but as the solution to it, gives us a glimpse of the deep gulf which lies between Brussels and the public."

International