Nieuws van de afdeling

26 September 2006

Buying European Parliament building ‘bad idea’

Today the European Parliament voted in favour of the purchase of the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg. SP Euro-MPs Erik Meijer and Kartika Liotard opposed the proposal, explaining that “We have no problem with the calculation that purchase will in the long term prove more advantageous than a rental agreement. If that was all that was at issue, we’d vote in favour. Much more important, however, is that fact that this will contribute to perpetuating the use of Strasbourg for monthly plenary meetings, a circus which costs 200 million euros a year or more.”

25 September 2006

SP opposes return of Otapan without a clear plan

SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen is insisting that a sound plan for decontamination must be agreed before the poison ship Otapan is allowed into a Dutch port. Following the lead of the party’s group on Amsterdam’s city council, SP councillors in Vlissingen (Flushing) and Rotterdam have called on local decision-makers to deny access to the ship until such a plan is in place.

23 September 2006

Asbestos ship’s wanderings may be over

The news that the asbestos ship Otapan is on its way back from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands has now been confirmed by the environment ministry. The ship has been recalled as a result of the risks it poses for public health and the environment, as SP Member of Parliament and environment spokeswoman Krista van Velzen demanded during yesterday’s debate.

22 September 2006

Malta latest to turn away asbestos ship

Environment Secretary Pieter van Geel should recall the asbestos ship Otapan to the Netherlands now that it has been turned away by Malta, argues SP Member of Parliament and environment spokeswoman Krista van Velzen. Ms Van Velzen will use Tuesday’s parliamentary question time to ask the Secretary of State how long the poison ship’s wanderings must continue, in view of the fact that since it was refused berthing by Turkish authorities a month ago a solution to the problem it poses remains elusive.

21 September 2006

EU lobbyists still out of control

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.”

21 September 2006

Van Velzen: Stop dumping west’s waste on poor countries

Krista van Velzen intervened in yesterday’s emergency debate on the toxic waste disaster in Ivory Coast to demand stricter rules governing the disposal of waste from ships. The ship whose poisonous waste caused the disaster in the West African country should never have been allowed out of Amsterdam harbour. Compulsory processing of such waste in Dutch ports would prevent illegal dumping in developing countries.

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