Nieuws van de afdeling

16 February 2009

New referendum law: 'European treaties must not be excluded'

If there is to be a new and revised law on referenda, it must make it possible to organise a popular vote on any proposed new EU treaties, according to the SP. SP Member of Parliament Ronald van Raak gave the party's views in a discussion of a proposal for a new law on consultative referenda from three MPs. The three represent Parliament's two left of centre parties, the Green Left and Labour, and the centrist D66.

12 February 2009

Van Bommel urges sanctions against Romania and Bulgaria

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is urging Secretary of Stae for European Affairs Frans Timmermans to demand that the European Union impose sanctions on Romania and Bulgaria. Van Bommel was responding to today's revelation that neither country had made significant progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime.

12 February 2009

Van Bommel: Timmermans 'speaks with forked tongue' on European government

Van Bommel in 2005, during the successful campaign against the European Constitution.

12 February 2009

British exclusion of Dutch MP 'a dangerous precedent'

The decision by the British authorities that a right wing member of the Dutch parliament should not be allowed on to United Kingdom territory sets a dangerous precedent. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer has raised the exclusion from the UK of Geert Wilders, founder and leader of the far right Freedom Party, and the precedent which it might set, in a written question to the European Commission. “Can members of and candidates for the European Parliament also be refused entry to EU member states on the grounds of their opinions?” Meijer will ask. He is seeking to know whether other politicians might, for example, be prevented from contributing to debates during the forthcoming European Parliament elections.

11 February 2009

European Commission divided on food from cloned animals

"The European Commission is ignoring the interests of the consumer and ignoring the welfare of animals. Allowing novel foods on to the European market is a result of privileging economic interests, something which unfortunately is likely to persist." So says SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard, who in her capacity as Rapporteur on the issue for the European Parliament met this week with the European Commission and the Council of Ministers. Their aim was to try to find a way out of the impasse brought about by a difference of opinion between the three institutions over a proposed EU Regulation on novel foods. Liotard wants to see meat from cloned animals immediately banned for human consumption, in order to protect both human health and the wellbeing of farm animals.

4 February 2009

SP leader in Iraq debate: what is the Prime Minister afraid of?

Parliament today debated with Premier Jan-Peter Balkenende his announcement that the government would be establishing its own commission to investigate the background to the country's support for the Iraq war. If this is accepted by the governing coalition parties, including the Premier's assertion that any parliamentary questions put during the next nine months need not be answered, it would represent a serious obstruction to parliamentary democracy. So argued SP leader Agnes Kant, who continues to urge the establishment of a real enquiry, one conducted by the people's representatives in parliament.

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