Nieuws van de afdeling

5 July 2016

Canada Treaty will go to national parliaments

The SP is pleased that member states’ national parliaments will after all be able to participate in the decision about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has agreed, under massive public pressure, to proceed on the basis of a ‘mixed treaty’ or ‘shared competence’, which means that the agreement of all twenty-eight of the member states’ national parliaments is required before the treaty is approved.

5 July 2016

250 MPs demand involvement of national parliaments in CETA decision

Foto: SP

250 MPs from thirteen different member states have signed a statement demanding that national parliaments be given the right to debate the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada. Their demand for involvement was presented in a letter to the government of Slovakia in its capacity as holder of the EU’s rotating presidency. The statement was an initiative of SP Senator Tuur Elzinga. “CETA will have far-reaching consequences for these various countries,” Elzinga explains. “So it’s not a treaty which can be introduced behind people’s backs. National parliaments must have the chance to approve or reject the agreement. That’s democracy.”

30 June 2016

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong “pleased with recognition of right to legal aid in EU”

Foto: Basvb

This morning the EU member states’ permanent representatives – Coreper, the body of civil servants which gives administrative support to the Council of Ministers – approved the compromise on the directive on legal aid which the Dutch EU Presidency had reached with the European Parliament rapporteur, SP Euro-MP De Jong. “I’m grateful to the Dutch Presidency and in particular Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur for the enormous effort they have put into this difficult dossier. The result isn’t perfect, but we have in any case a basis for legal aid in criminal proceedings in every EU member state. Access to this right must be guaranteed to all. We don’t want to see class justice.”

29 June 2016

Juncker’s “CETA coup” shocking, says SP

he SP sees the announcement by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker that national parliaments may play no role in the debate on CETA, the trade treaty with Canada, as a “coup d’état”. Not only is Juncker in this way bypassing the democratic process in the member states, he is also showing his unwillingness to wait for the official advice of the European Court of Justice.

29 June 2016

Broad support for SP motion calling for a decent social minimum for Dutch Caribbean

The SP today welcomed the adoption of a motion calling on the government to introduce a social minimum income in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, fixed at a level sufficient to cover the cost of basic necessities.

27 June 2016

Roemer: 'Brexit outstanding chance to build a slimmed down and democratic Europe'

Foto: SP

Brexit presents an outstanding opportunity for fundamental change in Europe, to get rid of competition between countries and build a slimmed down EU. A New Union, a union of cooperation between countries, instead of a union with diktats from Brussels. So said SP leader Emile Roemer during Monday evening’s debate on the Brexit.

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