International

The PvdA (Labour Party), the junior partner in the Netherlands’ coalition government, is no longer an opponent of airstrikes being carried out by Dutch F-16s on ISIS targets in Syria. This is a remarkable decision, because the arguments against bombing used by this party in the recent past are still valid. The civil war in Syria has already led to the deaths of more than 260,000 people and created tens of millions refugees. From humanitarian considerations it’s clear that intervention is needed, but the lessons of previous interventions must not be forgotten. For these reasons we were pleased by the Labour Party’s refusal to give its support to airstrikes. Its leader, Diederik Samsom, was right to observe that what was needed first was a political plan for the future of Syria. There is still a need for such. Warring parties are arguing about who gets a seat at the negotiating table.

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 This was revealed by the still unpublished agenda which the SP has managed to get hold of.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.

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.

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.’

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.’

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?

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.’

The European Parliament is set to vote today to approve a resolution on the Association Agreements with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldavia. The motion calls for rapid visa liberalisation and intensification of cooperation between the EU and these countries. The resolution also, however, expresses concern about ‘the context in which the Netherlands’ Ukraine referendum is taking place’ and the hope that ‘the Dutch people will judge the agreement on its advantages, including for the EU and for the Netherlands.’ Commenting on the text, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong said: ‘By the context the EP can only mean the unpopularity of the government of Mark Rutte. Evidently the Prime Minister’s performance this week in Strasbourg has not given the Parliament any confidence that the referendum will result in a “yes”. That’s something which should give him cause for concern.’

SP Member of Parliament Farshad Bashir is furious over interference from Brussels in the taxation of Dutch port companies. The European Commission insists that the nationalised port companies of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Zeeland, Den Helder, Groningen and Moerdijk should pay corporation tax on their profits. By not doing so, the Commission argues, they represent unfair competition with ports in other countries. Bashir, SP spokesman on both taxation issues and water transport, points out that ‘this tax ruling dates back to the 1950s. Given that these are state-owned corporations, it makes sense to exempt them from taxation. If they now have to pay taxes, it will cost a lot of jobs.’