Nieuws van de afdeling

28 January 2016

Ploumen forces CETA treaty with Canada on to agenda of EU Council of Ministers

Foto: SP

In her role as Chair of the EU Council of Trade Ministers, Dutch minister Lilianne Ploumen – a member of the Labour Party (PvdA) - has put the signing and provisional coming into force of the controversial Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada (CETA) on the agenda for the International Trade Council meeting scheduled for May 13th. This was revealed by the still unpublished agenda which the SP has managed to get hold of. In doing this, Ploumen is bypassing the European Court of Justice, which still has to give its advice on the question as to whether such treaties are an exclusive EU competence or whether the member states also have the right to take decisions independently. The SP calls on Ploumen to make signing the treaty conditional on the agreement of the member states’ national parliaments.

28 January 2016

Kox: 'Combatting terrorism must not undermine the rule of law in Europe’

Foto: SP

The struggle against terrorism and for the protection of the constitutional state should not be at odds with each other but, on the contrary, ought to be mutually reinforcing. To fight terrorism by restricting human rights is to play into the hands of the terrorists. Member states of the Council of Europe have the right and duty to protect their citizens from terror. At the same time they must continue to guarantee the fundamental values of the European Convention on Human Rights. Only in that way can terrorism be defeated. A resolution to this effect was adopted this week with broad support by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). PACE also voted in favour of a large number of amendments from SP Senator Tiny Kox, who chairs the United Left Group in the Assembly. The amendments were designed to make the fight against terrorism in the future more efficient and more effective.

27 January 2016

Transparency International has no confidence in Ukrainian government

In the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published today by Transparency International (TI), Ukraine is once again to be found amongst the worst regions. Commenting on the finding, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong says: ´Ukraine can be found amongst countries like Paraguay and Nepal in 130th place out of a total of 167 countries. As if that weren’t bad enough, TI notes that the government is digging its heels in when it comes to taking the necessary measures against corruption. And with a country like that the EU should sign an Association Agreement? A no in the Ukraine referendum -and a no to companies who want to do business there and which have no hesitation in paying bribes.’

27 January 2016

Van Bommel: Turkish journalists deserve freedom

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel has reacted with shock to the tough demands for punishment lodged in Turkey against two journalists from the newspaper Cumhuriyet. Commenting on the demand, Van Bommel says: ‘The journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül have carried out brave journalistic work, but the public prosecutor in Turkey is demanding double life sentences and thirty years in prison for them. That’s unacceptable.’

27 January 2016

Thousands of bombs and grenades

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris the global great powers sent a new echelon of hyper-modern weapons systems to Syria. What will this achieve?

26 January 2016

Syria: ‘More bombs, more war, more refugees'

Foto: SP

Plans of the governing centre-right VVD and centre left PvdA (Labour Party) coalition to bomb Syria will lead to a further escalation of violence. 'This is an incomprehensible turn-around from Labour,' says SP leader Emile Roemer. 'Yet more bombs will lead to ever more refugees. We should not be dropping bombs but food parcels for the people suffering under ISIS and the Assad-regime.’

International