International

This year the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has once again declared itself unable to approve the accounts of expenditure from the European Union’s various funds. The grounds for the Auditors’ decision are that the proportion of errors – 4.4% - was far above the acceptable margin of 2%. The ECA is, furthermore, concerned about the member states’ capacity to make effective use of the funds. Commenting on the matter, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong says: ‘It’s crazy that new airports have been built simply to get the money spent. In only 50% of projects was an investigation carried out into whether there was any need for the facility. No wonder that only one in three of the airports built with EU money has proved profitable. In every project the need which it meets should be clearly stated, along with the added value gained from EU financing. In particular the question as to whether a project would be realised without such European support is asked far too infrequently. This is a matter of taxpayers’ money. A results-based approach could save a great deal of costs.’

Secretary of State Sharon Dijksma should be looking to make tough agreements on emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, says SP Member of Parliament Eric Smaling. 'Although there may always be debate about the relationship between climate change and human behaviour,’ he adds, ‘it’s crystal clear that the proportion of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased enormously over a few decades. Greenhouse gases block the reflection of sunlight, warming the earth.’ On Sunday Smaling joined climate action group Urgenda, whose director is walking to Paris from the Netherlands in stages.

European Commissioner for climate policy Miguel Cañete has allowed himself to be seduced by the oil lobby, the SP says. This view was confirmed in the report “Cooking the Planet” from lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory. The report demonstrates that Commissioner Cañete, along with his colleague Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, have spoken four times as often with corporate lobbyists as they have with private citizens and social or environmentalist NGOs combined. Moreover, the leading role in this lobby has been taken by the fossil fuel industry, within which the Spanish Commissioner Cañete was formerly employed.

While the Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) and the Finance Minister speak of ‘irregularities’ and ‘incidents’ at ABN Dubai, Dubai’s own regulator, in publishing the explanation for the penalties it has imposed, presents an entirely different picture, one of systematic malpractice. DNB, in its capacity as the Dutch regulator, has also conducted its own investigation, but in contrast to the report by its counterpart in Dubai, its findings have been kept under lock and key, with DNB refusing to make any comment. SP Member of Parliament and finance spokesman Arnold Merkies wants the Dutch regulator to offer the same openness as does the Dubai authority.

Today more than 55 million Turks will have the chance to vote in the country’s general election. Expected turnout is high, probably close to 90%. That’s good news, as these elections are of unusually great importance. They do not, however, guarantee that Turkish democracy will stay on its feet. Concerns in the entire country and beyond are greater than ever before, writes SP Senator Tiny Kox, who was one of a team of election observers from the Council of Europe, a task he also performed in the previous elections in June.

Thousands of Turkish citizens resident in the Netherlands have been sent a letter allegedly by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu calling on them to vote for the ruling AK Party. Many are asking how their names and addresses have been acquired. On a proposal from Sadet Karabulut. Parliament unanimously condemned this canvassing action. In addition, the Dutch government has described the Turkish interference as completely inappropriate. In Turkey itself the country’s government’s action has been discussed by the international observers monitoring Sunday’s elections, reports SP Senator Kox, who is there as part of the Council of Europe’s team of observers.

The Greek parliamentary elections of 20th September brought an unexpectedly large victory for Syriza and its leader Alexis Tsipras. Whether this will be of any help to the ordinary Greek is the question, however. Much depends on the attitude of the troika of European Commission, ECB and IMF.

On the SP’s initiative the Turkish ambassador has been summoned by the government to explain why a letter has been sent to thousands of Dutch residents of Turkish origin in which a number of promises were made, including the provision of more Turkish-language education in the Netherlands.

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