Nieuws van de afdeling

17 December 2007

Uruzgan is becoming the Netherlands’ Vietnam

Waging war should not be done unless the broad support of the people is assured, argue Harry van Bommel, Mariko Peters and Klaas E. Meijer

12 December 2007

SP: End subsidies to EU wine lake

The SP is supporting a proposal from the European Commission to reduce the level of wine production in Europe. SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard, explaining the party's decision, said: “We are paying €700 million per year just to get rid of wine that nobody wants. At some point this has got to stop."

12 December 2007

Stop enforced privatisation and liberalisation in developing countries

The SP is urging Development Minister Bert Koenders to call the World Bank to account for the pressure it exerts on developing countries to privatise and liberalise their economies. Research has shown that the Bank puts pressure on countries to liberalise their markets and privatise state-owned enterprises, despite recent promises of a change in policy.

12 December 2007

SP supports ban on ‘healthy lollipop’ claims

The European Parliament voted today to approve a change in the rules governing health claims on food products. SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard explained that "Fooling children into thinking that some lollipops are really healthy will no longer – eventually - be allowed. In my view, however, the proposal doesn't go nearly far enough, though it will certainly represent an improvement on the present situation."

11 December 2007

Noise restrictions on NATO aircraft: 'Unacceptable' SP proposal accepted!

The government must close Dutch airspace to AWACS radar aircraft if NATO continues to refuse to update the planes involved by replacing their outmoded, noisy engines. Such was the gist of the proposal brought before parliament on Tuesday by the SP. Despite fierce opposition from the cabinet, parliament agreed. Outgoing Secretary of State for Defence Cees Van der Knaap, replaced in the recent cabinet reshuffle, had called the proposal "unacceptable", although Premier Jan Peter Balkenende's statement on Tuesday that it was "greatly inadvisable" was somewhat weaker.

8 December 2007

Brussels' assault on unfair dismissal laws

Now that the liberalisation of labour laws protecting the rights of workers in the face of unfair dismissal has for the time being been removed from the agenda of the Dutch government, the PvdA (Labour Party), the centre-left element in the centre-right/centre-left coalition, appears to have won its first victory. But this is no time to lower one's guard. The real threat to these rights comes, in fact, from Brussels, where there is no question even of a stay of execution, let alone of a reprieve.

International