Nieuws van de afdeling

18 January 2009

SP Executive nominates list for European elections

Having interviewed numerous applicants, the Executive Committee of the SP is ready to present its recommended list for the European Parliamentary elections on 4th June to the party's membership for consideration. Their choice to lead the list is 53-year-old Dennis de Jong from Rotterdam, a member of the Rotterdam SP branch executive and an activist on such international affairs as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. The list will now be put to the Party Council on 21st February. Made up of the Chairs of each SP branch and the members of the much smaller Executive Committee, the Council is the party's highest governing body after the national conference. The Council will also debate, and amend or simply approve, the SP European election manifesto. “The SP will be aiming in these elections to double our present tally of two seats,” says General Secretary Hans van Heijningen. “The list is nicely balanced between young people and those with more experience and will ensure that we will make our voice heard in Brussels for socially progressive policies.” Current SP European Parliamentary Group leader Erik Meijer is to stand down at the age of 64 after ten years representing the party in Brussels and Strasbourg. “The SP is grateful to Erik for his pioneering work in the European Parliament, where he was our first member. He has laid a basis on which a renewed and dynamic team can build,” said Van Heijningen.

17 January 2009

New revelations on invasion of Iraq: Van Bommel demands explanation

SP Foreign Affairs specialist Harry van Bommel wants the government to comment on the report in the leading Dutch daily NRC-Handelsblad that a meeting of top foreign affairs officials in April 2003 deliberately withheld from the Foreign Minister a legal advice note critical of the Netherlands' political support for the war on Iraq. In the note, leading civil servants argue that the government's standpoint is wrong-headed. “At the Ministry of Defence there were serious doubts about the lawfulness of the invasion of Iraq,” said Van Bommel. “The Foreign Minister always spoke out against such doubts. This revelation underlines the need for a parliamentary enquiry. No stone should be left unturned.”

15 January 2009

Srebrenica: "Army provided no more than an appearance of security"

The European Parliament has declared 11th July an annual day of commemoration of the massacre which occurred in Srebrenica in Bosnia in 1995. While other politicians used the debate on this declaration to argue for more shows of strength by the EU, the SP's Erik Meijer called for attention to be paid to a quite different aspect of the matter: the raising of illusions and the consequent endangering of the civilian population. The Netherlands' military action in Srebrenica between 1993 and 1995 could, in Meijer's opinion, never have been a success.

14 January 2009

Commission forced to withdraw proposals for public broadcasting

SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer has for months been bombarding EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes with critical questions over the way in which her recently announced proposals for the future of public broadcasting would hinder its functioning. Even the CDA, the majority centre-right party of the Dutch government, called Kroes's plans 'unacceptable' during last Monday's debate on the issue at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg, and cross-party hostility has forced the Commission to back down. This represents a political success for the SP.

14 January 2009

Van Bommel: ‘It has to be about the victims, and about finding a solution’

The explosion of violence in the Gaza Strip has launched a wave of emotion across the world. The conflict provoked strong reactions on all sides. The Dutch government, however, is keeping its options open. That cannot be said of Harry van Bommel, foreign affairs spokesman for the SP. On his initiative Parliament came back early from recess, meeting last Friday to discuss the situation. But at the same time, a row has broken out which focuses on Van Bommel and his alleged views on the situation.

14 January 2009

Continuing mystery of 1975 air crash: SP Euro-MP calls for help for relatives of victims

In 1975 a Hungarian aircraft crashed into the sea, just before arriving in Beirut. There was one Dutch citizen on board along with fifty-nine other people. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer is urging the European Commission to help the surviving relatives of the victims to find answers to the questions which remain unanswered. The Hungarian airline Malév refuses to offer any information.

International