Nieuws van de afdeling

31 March 2009

Profits put before patients

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard describes herself as “baffled” by the behaviour of the two Dutch centre-right parties, the opposition VVD and the governing Christian Democrat CDA, in the European Parliament this morning. Their votes on the report on cross-border medical care showed that the two put economic interests before those of patients. “This is the world turned upside down,” Liotard says. “This is the same VVD which reproached the SP for what it claimed was 'playing political games at the expense of patients'. But if you take a good look at what happened here this morning, then it's clear that not for the first time commerce and profit have been put before healthcare. This is what happens continually in Europe."

30 March 2009

At SP's request, Parliament invited to Afghanistan Conference

SP foreign affairs specialist Harry van Bommel's request that Parliament be invited to attend tomorrow's International Conference on Afghanistan has received a positive response from Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. Van Bommel will attend the conference along with SP parliamentary colleague Farshad Bashir, the only Dutch MP born in Afghanistan.

29 March 2009

Reconstruction mission? How long will we allow ourselves to be fooled?

This week the SP broadcast a short TV ad responding to the Dutch military presence in Afghanistan. You don't need to understand Dutch to get the message, though it helps if you know that the first slogan which appears means 'Support Afghanistan, Stop the War', while the second asks 'Reconstruction mission? How long will we allow ourselves to be fooled?'. In an interview, SP foreign affairs spokesman Harry van Bommel explains the thinking behind the ad.

28 March 2009

SP goes to London for G20 protest march

Police estimate that 35,000 demonstrators took part in today's protest march through London. The mass demonstration, which passed close to a number of government and parliament buildings including 10 Downing Street itself, was directed against the G20, the gathering of twenty-two of the world's richest and most powerful countries which takes place in Britain's capital on Thursday. A delegation of SP members, amongst whom was Dennis de Jong, the party's number one on the list for the European Parliament elections on June 4th, and Senator Tuur Elzinga, took part in the demo.

26 March 2009

SP youth demonstrate in Brussels: ''Europe Big in Business. Small in Democracy'

'Europe Big in Business. Small in Democracy.' This was the slogan on a banner at the entrance to the European Business Summit in Brussels, an annual gathering of European businesspeople and politicians. This year, no fewer than eleven of the twenty-seven European Commissioners attended.

26 March 2009

The missile shield: made to measure for a new Cold War

In August 2008 Poland and the United States, after years of negotiations, signed a treaty in which arrangements were agreed for the stationing of ten missile launchers on Polish soil. For the establishment of an accompanying radar installation on Czech territory, the Prague parliament has yet, at the time of writing, to give its permission. According to the original American plans, the system should be operational by 2013.

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