Nieuws van de afdeling

9 March 2006

Irrgang receives promise from Zalm over monitoring of EU moneys

For the eleventh year in a row the European Court of Auditors has come to the conclusion that what the EU is doing with its money is as clear as mud. Moreover, it is by no means obvious that any improvement can be expected in the future, especially as most other member states are not prepared to work to bring about changes. As far as SP Member of Parliament Ewout Irrgang is concerned, the Netherlands should not simply resign itself to this: “Of course we shouldn't send billions of euros a year to Brussels without it being absolutely clear what happens to this money when it gets there.”

9 March 2006

Clear signal at spring meeting of union leaders and employers: effective measures to combat exploitation must precede any further opening of borders

Activists from the SP this morning joined trade union militants in forming a picket line in front of the headquarters in the Hague of the tripartite Social and Economic Council (SER), a powerful advisory body comprising representatives of both sides of industry and of the state, which the government is obliged to consult before taking major measures in the area of social and economic policy. Members of the government, union leaders and employers' representatives were inside the building for the customary “Spring Meeting”, at which policy for the coming months is discussed point-by-point. The demonstrators were demanding that borders should not be made any more open to workers from the new EU member states until existing and foreseeable problems were dealt with.

8 March 2006

International protest for women's rights

Today, on International Women's Day, SP Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen joined an international protest demonstration for women's rights in Iran. After marching past the Iranian Embassy, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the International Court of Justice. Despite torrential rain, the mood was both cheerful and militant.

7 March 2006

SP doubles strength in local elections

The SP was, together with the Labour Party, the biggest overall winner in today's 2006 local council elections. The total number of SP council seats rose from 157 to 333. If the party were to repeat its performance in the coming parliamentary elections, it would grow from its present level of nine MPs to seventeen, making it, along with the PvdA (Labour Party), CDA (Christian Democrats) and VVD (right wing liberals), one of the major political parties of the Netherlands.

6 March 2006

Netherlands must take joint responsibility for tragedy of human rights in Iraq

In an astonishing and hard-hitting report published today, Amnesty International (AI) gives its assessment of the extremely poor human rights situation in Iraq. In the three years that have gone by since the removal of Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime, the condition of human rights under the aegis of the Americans has been appalling. Occupation and violent resistance has led to thousands of dead and many more wounded.

2 March 2006

Van Bommel calls for release of Philippine MPs

Harry van Bommel has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Ben Bot to give his views on the situation in the Philippines, following Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's late February declaration of a state of emergency. Her move was allegedly prompted by an attempted coup d'état involving parties of right and left, after which a number of junior military officers were arrested.

International