Nieuws van de afdeling

14 June 2006

SP: Parliament too quick to approve accession of Bulgaria and Romania to EU

Following the lead of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament, the Senate has voted to approve the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union on 1st January 2007. The SP was alone in its opposition to the legislative resolution to respond with an immediate 'yes', on the grounds that it is still too early to do so. A number of things remain amiss in both countries, including the high level of corruption and organised crime as well as the inadequate attempts to combat these, argued SP Senator Tiny Kox.

14 June 2006

Brussels abandons compulsory tenders for public transport

SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer, who acted as the European Parliament's Rapporteur for the European Commission's proposed measure regulating the organisation of public transport systems, described himself as "delighted" by the political agreement reached last Friday by the EU Council of Transport Ministers in relation to the question of tendering of public transport. "It's still too early to speak of an unmitigated success," Mr Meijer said, "but as things stand, the new proposal from the Commission, to which the Council was responding, goes a long way to meeting the wishes of the European Parliament, which were in turn formulated on the basis of advice given in my report on the original proposal."

13 June 2006

Vaccination for bird flu remains best means of prevention

Although it seems for the moment to have blown over, bird flu remains in reality one of the biggest threats to human and animal health in Europe and beyond. It is clear that coordination is needed at European level. “The best method of prevention is and remains the vaccination of animals," said SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard today in a debate on the issue during the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg.

13 June 2006

‘Van Hoof tricked Parliament in discussion over open borders’

During debates over open borders for workers from new EU member states, Secretary of State for Social Affairs Henk van Hoof responded to pressure from the Christian Democrats (CDA), Labour Party (PvdA), the Green Left and the SP by promising that he would take great care to work out, in consultation with trade unions and employers, what would be the implications for employment. In fact, after no more than a single informal discussion, Van Hoof has decided to go ahead with immediate measures to make the borders more open. “I propose that when Mr Van Hoof next appears before Parliament he should wear a long nose," said SP Member of Parliament Jan de Wit. “I have, just like the unions, the feeling that I've been had."

13 June 2006

EU nuclear research pulls the wool over public's eyes

The European Parliament today debated the EU's nuclear technology research programme. According to SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard this is no more than an attempt to pull the wool over the eys of the member states' citizens. “Nuclear power is presented as the solution to the problem of climate change and the most important ‘clean’ energy source in Europe. Total nonsense!”

9 June 2006

Congo mission must benefit population

The Dutch government wants to send around fifty soldiers to the Congo for a four month period to participate in a European Union mission to ensure good conduct in the presidential elections to be held on 30th July. In deciding whether to support the proposal, the SP will give priority to the interests of the Congolese people.

International