Nieuws van de afdeling

27 May 2006

Krista van Velzen: ‘Antilles must be persuaded to tackle problem of asbestos’

SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen has asked Secretary of State for the Environment Pieter van Geel to do all in his power to bring to an end any use of life-threatening asbestos in the Antilles, a group of Caribbean islands which, though self-governing, remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In the Netherlands proper, 800 people die every year from asbestos-related diseases. Concern over this has led to new legislation, including an EU-wide ban on production and use of any materials containing asbestos, but in the Antilles these measures do not apply and the carcinogenic material remains on general sale.

22 May 2006

‘Independent Montenegro unavoidable’

SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer, an observer at the referendum on independence for Montenegro, said: “The vote has been conducted in an extremely correct and meticulous manner. The result will lead to an independent Montenegro. This was unavoidable, actually, and I would expect it to be respected by all of Montenegro’s citizens.”

18 May 2006

The Tragedy of Asbestos: Revised edition contains wealth of new material

A new edition of the English language version of The Tragedy of Asbestos, by Bob Ruers and Nico Schouten, is now available on the website of the Socialist Party of the Netherlands (SP), at / The new version contains all of the material included in last year’s publication, enhanced by a wealth of historical material previously available only in Dutch.

16 May 2006

SP: European decision on health claims ‘doesn’t go far enough‘

The European Parliament today adopted a compromise text designed to check the huge growth of health claims on the labels of food and drink products. The SP is pleased that legislation has finally been enacted, but is greatly concerned at the scope of the exceptions allowed by the new regulation.

12 May 2006

‘Big Brother’ Directive: No American conditions

Representatives of the American government have expressed an interest in the telecommunications data of Europeans which the European Union plans in the near future to record and preserve. SP Members of Parliament Jan de Wit and Harry van Bommel fear that this will create American-style conditions and have asked the Minister of Justice for clarification.

10 May 2006

SP tells left MEPs: ‘Enlargement increasingly unpopular in Netherlands’

On May 8th-9th the United Left Group of the European Parliament (GUE/NGL), in which the SP participates, met in Prague to discuss the results of the enlargement of the EU in May, 2004. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer told the meeting that “The Dutch public is becoming increasingly critical of the EU and of its enlargement. And in the new member states themselves the downside of the process is coming increasingly to the fore.” He found little dissent from this view.

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