Nieuws van de afdeling

18 April 2018

Selmayrgate: 'the whole affair stinks'

In recent weeks SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong has been in the news in the row surrounding the hasty nomination of Martin Selmayr as Secretary General of the European Commission, the highest-placed official in the Brussels-based executive. SP monthly De Tribune interviewed him at the end of the hearing which the European Parliament organised on the issue, on the initiative of Dennis de Jong and other MEPs. In his responses to five questions, De Jong outlines his serious concerns about the appointment.

18 April 2018

JEFTA is a Trojan Horse

Foto: SP

SP Euro-MP Anne-Marie Mineur describes the 'agreement in principle' concluded today by the European Commission with Japan – JEFTA, or the Japan-EU Free Trade Agreement - as a Trojan Horse. “The controversial chapters on investment protection (the ISDS – Investor State dispute Settlement) and the transfer of personal data for commercial purposes are for the moment being kept out of the picture,” she says. “This is in the hope that the removal of trade tariffs will persuade the European Council and the European Parliament to approve the treaty. That's a very underhand way to pilot a controversial treaty away from democratic control.”

17 April 2018

Selmayrgate: the Final Stage

On 16th April the Budgetary Control Committee of the European Parliament passed a stern resolution criticising the rapid way in which Martin Selmayr had been appointed Secretary-General of the European Commission, and calling on the Commission itself, among others, to join it in condemning the appointment.

17 April 2018

Dennis de Jong, MEP: 'Macron is a giant on feet of clay'

French President Emmanuel Macron's speech before the European Parliament this morning left ordinary people standing out in the cold. Reacting to Macron's performance, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: ´Macron's huge panoramas are well-known, but he behaves like a giant with feet of clay. While he is creating chaos in France with his diehard neoliberal policies, he expects the European Union to stand by him. France's parliament, the Assemblée Nationale, which is the body closest to the country's citizens, is shoved aside by means of presidential decrees, while the institution which is furthest away from ordinary people, the EU, is supposed to restore democracy. That's completely beyond belief.'

17 April 2018

Cold War 2.0

Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok's attitude to Russia in the Skripal affair is a symptom of a broader problem: the flaring up of Cold War 2.0. Despite the fact that no proof has been provided to back the British supposition that Russia was behind the poisoning of the double agent and his doctor, the Netherlands treats Theresa May's statements as gospel. Escalation is being pursued on the basis of secret information.

14 April 2018

The attack on Syria

Last night the US, UK and France launched a series of air raids on military targets controlled by the Assad regime in Syria. According to the three countries' own statements, this was in response to a gas attack by the Syrian army earlier this month. The Netherlands has expressed support ('understanding' in the jargon) for this military action by the western powers. This is completely misguided, because the American-led attack is, just as was the gas attack, a breach of international law.

International