Nieuws van de afdeling

28 June 2005

Liotard: ‘Italian reception of refugees is brutal'

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard is astonished and shocked by the degrading situation which she encountered in the refugee camp on the Italian island of Lampedusa: “There are no human rights here. This has nothing whatsoever to do with any sort of humane reception.”

24 June 2005

‘National debates needed over future of EU’

The current political crisis in Europe must be seized as an opportunity to set in motion a political debate in every member state over the direction of the Union. In the Netherlands this has already, following an initiative from the SP, been decided. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer used yeterday's plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Brussels to issue a call to this effect to government leaders, urging them to follow his country's example.

23 June 2005

SP: ‘No extra billion for European militarisation’

Today the SP delegation in the European Parliament voted against the proposal to add at least a billion euros a year to the military research budget. SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer said that “Europe is already far too militarised. This attempt to keep up with US defence production is an arms race which we should not begin.”

20 June 2005

This terrorism law will not solve problems

Jan de Wit, Member of Parliament for the SP, is sceptical about the terrorism law proposed to Parliament today by Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner. The law gives broad powers to courts and the police to pursue non-suspects and to lock people who are under suspicion up for long periods. In his response, Jan De Wit said “Terrorism must first and foremost be tackled intelligently, not in this crude fashion.”

17 June 2005

Kartika Liotard: ‘EU should put plans on hold until we know what people want’

SP Euro-MP Kartika Liotard wants the idea in the motion put forward by her SP colleague in the Dutch national parliament, Harry van Bommel, which charges the government with the task of organising a broad national debate on the future direction of Europe, to be adopted also at the European level. In a meeting in Stockholm of European left parties last weekend, the decision was taken to gather at least a million signatures on a petition urging the holding back of any further far-reaching EU measures until a clear idea has been gained of what the citizens of the member states want from the European Union.

16 June 2005

EU finances: Better no agreement than a bad agreement

Europe must postpone an agreement over the new multi-annual financial framework until next year, and the coming year should be used to subject European finances to a fundamental review, says SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel. “The rejection of the European Constitution was a clear signal, pointing the way to a different Europe,” he argues. “To this different Europe belongs a different financial foundation.”

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