Nieuws van de afdeling

7 May 2006

The European Social Forum: the SP goes to Athens

The SP sent a delegation of four to this year's European Social Forum in Athens: Members of Parliament Harry van Bommel and Ewout Irrgang were joined by national secretary Hans van Heijningen and Dennis de Jong, chair of the Social Globalisation Working Party. The four were able to participate in numerous events, sometimes with the help of simultaneous interpretation through headphones, which was often provided.

5 May 2006

Van Bommel urges strict EU rules for lobbyists

The European Commission’s proposal to make the activities of lobbyists more transparent falls far short of what's needed and is nothing more than a wish-list, containing no real commitments. In reaction to the proposal, SP Member of Parliament and European spokesman Harry van Bommel is calling for much stricter controls on the activities of lobbyists in Brussels.

5 May 2006

Flemish transport minister: ‘Deregulation of public transport in the Netherlands isn't working’

According to Kathleen van Brempt, Minister for Mobility for the autonomous government of Flanders, Belgium's Dutch-speaking region and home to 60% of its population, the results in the Netherlands of so-called “market-working” or deregulation of public transport have been disastrous. She takes the Netherlands’ authorities to task for lacking both courage and any regard for the social importance of public transport. SP Member of Parliament Arda Gerkens shares this opinion: “A transport minister with guts and a real vision of public transport is just what we could use here in the Netherlands,” she said. “The successful growth of Flemish public transport is something which we could achieve here too.”

2 May 2006

SP: ‘Kroes's position should be discussed’

"The continuing business involvement of European Commissioner Neelie Kroes and in particular her links to the property magnate Jan-Dirk Paarlberg, who is under suspicion of money laundering, is sufficient reason to call her position once more into question.” So say SP Euro-MPs Erik Meijer en Kartika Liotard following revelations that Kroes has not adhered to the promises which she made when she came into office. The two intend to raise the matter with Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

1 May 2006

Europe must tackle growing pollution of North Sea

An ever-decreasing proportion of waste from sea-going vessels is properly processed, which means that an ever-growing quantity is dumped into the North Sea. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer today put a written parliamentary question on the scandal to the European Commission with the intention of bringing pressure to bear for improvements in the rules contained in the EU Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues.

1 May 2006

Health care system unfair to former migrant workers

Many people from outside the EU who have worked as migrant “guest workers” in the Netherlands and later returned home will, under new health insurance rules, be required to pay more in premiums than they would be entitled to receive in benefits. The problem arises because a European Regulation requires that they be charged the same as a person who continues to live in the Netherlands, while in most cases medical treatment in their own countries is much cheaper. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer has put a parliamentary question to the European Commission asking them to exempt such people from the Regulation's requirement.

International