Nieuws van de afdeling

2 August 2005

Follow the Italian example: prosecute Eternit's former bosses

The Italian Ministry for Public Affairs has decided to prosecute former Eternit bosses for responsibility for the deaths of a large number of their ex-employees. Socialist Party (SP) Member of Parliament Krista van Velzen is to demand that Secretary of State Pieter Van Geel explain whether he intends to instigate a similar procedure in the Netherlands.

28 July 2005

THE TRAGEDY OF ASBESTOS – Research sheds light on international asbestos cartel

Employers who expose their workers to deadly dangers – firms which mislead the public authorities and manipulate research findings – corporations responsible for hundreds of thousands of victims. This is the picture presented in Het asbestdrama (The tragedy of asbestos), a book which tells the story of a hundred years of the asbestos industry. In the Netherlands alone to date 7000 people have died from asbestos-related cancer, a figure which will grow by around 12,000 in the next 25 years. In western Europe 250,000 people will die, while the worldwide toll will be far greater still than this.

21 July 2005

Europe sacrifices air quality to economy

The European Commission wants to reduce the amount of environmental regulation, because in its view these rules harm the economy. Existing climate targets will be shoved aside and plans to improve air quality postponed. The Commission's lack of ambition is bad news for the health of millions of Europeans.

19 July 2005

Why the Dutch said ‘no’ to the EU Constitution

On 1 June, a majority of the Dutch public voted against the European Constitution. More than 60 percent, on a very high turn-out, decided that this Constitution would not represent an improvement. And it was clear that this was a victory brought about by progressive voters.

18 July 2005

‘Less naïve and more realistic' about terrorism

“By everywhere combating inequality, poverty, segregation, discrimination, oppression and military aggression, we make it much more difficult for extremist ideologies to exploit these social abuses in order to recruit young people to do the most appalling things.” So said SP Senator Tiny Kox last weekend in London at the annual conference of dissident Labour MPs and activists.

10 July 2005

Luxembourg's ‘yo’ is Constitution's last twitch

Today, 56,5% of Luxembourg's electorate of 223.000 voted in favour of the European Constitution, a 'yo' which hardly comes as a surprise. On the other hand, the fact that the majority was so paltry is remarkable. Commenting on the result, SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel said, “The European Constitution was dead and it's still dead. It has not been reincarnated in Luxembourg.”

International