International

Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for administration and the combating of fraud, is not in favour of a system of compulsory registration for lobbyists, a fact which emerged during this week’s debate on the issue in the European Parliament. Describing himself as “disappointed”, SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer said nothing else would “dispel the mistrust on the part of the European public in the face of the Brussels lobbying circus.”

The Socialist Party has described the government's decision to remove remaining restrictions on the entry of workers from eastern Europe in twenty-three sectors as “totally irresponsible”. SP Member of Parliament Jan de Wit, who is demanding an emergency debate on the decision, said “They have considered only the interests of big corporations and have no thought for the consequences for those workers who have already been thrown on the scrapheap or who are about to qualify to practice a skilled trade.”