On 18th September. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong and staff member Meltem Okcu paid a working visit to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. The trip provided a treasure-trove of information concerning who gets to take the decisions when it comes to the use of chemical substances and in particular on the role of the industry itself. What prompted the visit was the widespread anger about the discharge of a dangerous substance, known by its brand name GenX, by chemical company Chemours in Dordrecht, Netherlands. The SP has fought on the local, regional and national level against this substance being omitted, which nevertheless turns out now to be present even in drinking water. Yet no action has been taken, despite the government having the power to restrict GenX and even to move to have a total ban instituted at European level. This would require them to be active in the responsible committee of the ECHA.
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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled against the right of journalists to access receipts showing what Members of the European Parliament actually spent their office expenses allowances on. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, responding to the judgment, said that he found it “totally unjust”, adding that “the argument on the basis of which the Court rejected the request for openness, the right to protection of private data, takes no account of the public function of elected representatives of the people. We are using taxpayers' money and should have to show that it's spent correctly.”