Nieuws van de afdeling

5 December 2009

Bring the economy back to human scale

"In the last few years, in relation to the economy, what we've heard is 'big is beautiful'. The bigger a bank, the bigger the profit. That was the idea, and this idea has landed us with big problems. That is why the SP wants to see a fundamentally different economy, one in which it is not the size of the bonus paid to the manager which is seen as the gauge of a firm's success." This is the message which Dennis de Jong, leader of the SP's European Parliamentary group, brought to the world's major financial and economic institutions during a working visit to Geneva and Basel.

2 December 2009

A better environment starts in The Hague

The Netherlands wants to take the lead in Copenhagen, but our credibility will suffer because of our own weak climate policy.

2 December 2009

SP totally opposed to EU tax on text messages

The Netherlands should send a proposal for a European tax on SMS or text messages directly to where it belongs – the rubbish bin. That was the reaction of SP Member of Parliament and European Affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel to leak European Commission documents which revealed that the EU's unelected executive is seriously considering a whole range of European taxes, including one on text messages. The aim of the tax measures would be to finance the EU's own budget.

2 December 2009

Van Bommel 'disappointed' by Obama's outlook on Afghanistan

In the opinion of SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel, US President Barak Obama's decision to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan represents no essential change in strategy, a fact which he finds disappointing. "For the time being the war will continue. More combat troops mean more violence, more resistance and therefore more civilian victims. In addition, of course, there is now a call on the Netherlands to extend our army's presence. We must not give in to this pressure."

2 December 2009

Historic debate on the ‘State of the Union'

The debate on the European Union held yearly in the Dutch parliament took place yesterday, the very day that the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. According to SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel, this made the day "historic, but not very cheerful. To this treaty will always be attached the knowledge that it has arrived without the support of the Dutch people.” Van Bommel was referring to the blocking of a referendum on the treaty by the governing coalition.

1 December 2009

'Defence ministry must stop recruiting child soldiers'

The Ministry of Defence must call a halt to its 'recruitment propaganda', including ads aimed at attracting interest from teenagers and children aged 11 and over. SP Member of Parliament Remi Poppe will take advantage of this week's debate on the defence budget to call for an end to such advertising. "With websites like www.Oranjebaretten.nl, the army is approaching children in a completely tasteless manner," says Poppe. "The emphasis is on excitement. In reality soldiers after a tour of duty often suffer mental breakdown. Unfortunately, they also run the risk of being killed."

International