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13 June 2008

Van Bommel: Irish 'No' is Europe's opportunity

Irish rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon, in the view of SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel, presents Europe with a tremendous opportunity. “It offers all member states the chance to have a real discussion about the future of the EU,” he explains. “The Irish 'no' means that the Lisbon Treaty is as dead as a doornail. The ratification process, which here in the Netherlands is halfway through, should be halted.” Van Bommel, who is the SP's parliamentary spokesman on European affairs and who played a major role in the Netherlands' own 'No' campaign three years ago, twice travelled to Ireland at the invitation of opponents of the Treaty to offer his support. He called on the Dutch government to respect the Irish people's decision in an unequivocal fashion.

13 June 2008

‘The Dutch are fighting in Uruzgan primarily for their own safety'

Recently SP Member of Parliament Remi Poppe visited Afghanistan on a week-long fact-finding mission. It was, Poppe says, an impressive if depressing journey. "Our boys and girls are doing their best, but there's hardly any sign of reconstruction and they are fighting primarily to guarantee the safety of their own bases." Below is a report of Remi Poppe's experiences in the war-torn country.

11 June 2008

Water Privatisation no solution to extreme poverty

In the privatisation of water supply in developing countries, the SP can see no kind of solution to the problem of reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Agreed by almost every country in the world in 2000, the MDGs include a halving of the number of people living in extreme poverty and a halving of those without ready access to a safe water supply, both of which are targeted for 2015. In today's debate on the issue, the SP called on Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders to make more resources and more finance available for cooperation between publicly-owned water suppliers in the West and their counterparts in developing countries.

11 June 2008

Karzai urges negotiations with Taliban

During his visit to the Netherlands, Afghan President Hamid Karzai this morning spoke with members of both houses of the national parliament. He emphasised that hard work must be done on political solutions to the problems in Afghanistan. “In the end Afghanistan's success will not be determined by military means," said President Karzai. "A political process of state formation in which as many groups as possible from Afghan society are involved is the key to a durable development of our country."

10 June 2008

SP Senator: Give Africa the chance of a 'right to food'

SP Senator Eric Smaling seized the opportunity of today's policy debate in the Senate – 'People and development cooperation' – to urge that attention be given not only to the present 'right to food', but also to a proposal to bring about an improvement in the situation in Africa.

7 June 2008

Van Bommel: Bilderberg Conference is more than just a cosy talking-shop

Premier Balkenende clearly feels no need to let the Dutch people know just what insights he, Queen Beatrix, Crown-Prince Willem-Alexander and Secretary of State Hans Timmermans hopes to gain behind the closed doors of the Bilderberg Conference this weekend. In answer to Parliamentary Questions from Socialist Party MPs Harry van Bommel and Ronald van Raak, he stated that he was pleased to be attending such a conference, where he would gain knowledge and insight, but was not planning to present a report on the event as precisely what was discussed should remain secret.

International