International

By Anne Marie Mineur - European Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete is a jovial man. He jokes, claps you on the shoulders and gives the impression that he is just as worked up about climate change as are the rest of us. We’re doing this together, is the message, and he’s there for us. But we shouldn’t attach much value to his words, as you’ll see if we examine his deeds.

11 Dec 2015 We’re not allowed to say a word about the meeting with the representatives of the shipping sector as it was in camera, as they say: behind closed doors and totally secret. The tone of the meeting was thus strikingly open-hearted. But actually, nothing new came out of it.

The draft climate agreement has been published, and it’s no better than expected. The real points still haven’t been dealt with, and once again – surprise-surprise - air transport and shipping have been left out. Also, the agreements on adjusting cost-sharing are again under review.

Everyone wants to speak with the European Parliament delegation. Yesterday at 9 a.m., even before the delegation had its own official kick-off, a representative group from corporate business was knocking on our door, led by the Chairman of Cefic, the European chemicals lobby. His tale is clear enough: the most important factor in carrying corporate business along with us in the fight against climate change is quite simply how much it will cost.

SP Member of Parliament Jasper van Dijk is calling on everyone to report their experiences with expensive concert tickets to the complaints point ‘Kaart te Duur’ kaartteduur@sp.nl (‘Ticket too expensive’). It happens frequently that tickets for concerts are sold on via the internet at many times the original price. ‘At Adele’s concerts ten minutes after they started selling them, tickets were already to be had for €1000. Resale agents take huge advantage of the fact that fans are desperate to go a concert.’

SP Member of Parliament Eric Smaling is attending the climate summit in Paris. The aim of the conference is to reach a new agreement on the climate. This has to be in place in 2020, when the current treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, expires. Smaling will be sending a daily report of his experiences to the SP site.

It’s good news that the Netherlands is set to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, says SP Member of Parliament Henk van Gerven. The convention provides that people with a disability must enjoy equal rights, as well as the same opportunities as any other individual.

If former army chief Desie Bouterse is not going to be prosecuted in Suriname for the December Murders, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecutor should take the job on, argues Harry van Bommel.

The big shots have left the climate summit, so the real work can now begin. Last week the world’s leaders gave fiery speeches, speeches which made the front pages. Behind the scenes officials worked day and night on a new proposal for a negotiating text. This text reads like a sort of menu: the ingredients are to hand, now choices have to be made.