International

This week Belgian trade unions demonstrated against social dumping - right in front of the European Parliament. The SP’s European team, including MEPs Dennis de Jong and Anne-Marie Mineur joined the action along with representatives of the Dutch trade union federations the FNV and CNV.

The SP is urging European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to make a serious effort to bring transparency to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the European Union. The US Congress yesterday opted for the so-called Fast Track procedure, which removes direct democratic control over the Transpacific Trade Partnership, the treaty being negotiated with a number of countries which lie within or border the Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Australia and Mexico. It is feared that these negotiations will simply continue to take place behind closed doors.

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel won the support of his fellow MPs when they voted in favour of a resolution calling on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to demand the release of prisoners of conscience in Azerbaijan. ‘In the runup to the European Games which began recently in the country, critics of the government have been dealt with extremely harshly,’ says Van Bommel. ‘Dozens of them have been arrested and locked up to prevent them from expressing their opinions. It’s completely unacceptable that there are prisoners of conscience in Azerbaijan ao I’m pleased that Parliament has supported my call for their release. It’s important that we show solidarity with the victims of this repression.’

SP Member of Parliament Michiel van Nispen took part on Friday in the protest action ‘Run for Leyla’, organised by Amnesty International around the Azerbaijan in The Hague.

On 17th June SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong, together with corruption watchdog Transparency International, hosted a meeting in the European Parliament with – and about – whistle-blowers. Protecting whistle-blowers deserves at this time to be given a great deal of attention, given that the European Parliament yesterday voted in favour of an EU Directive on protection of company secrets. The measure in question will make it that much harder to make abuses within corporations public.

Last week the alarming situation in Calais was much in the news. Tensions between truck drivers and migrants trying to get to England as stowaways intensify by the day. SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is pulling out all the stops: France, Belgium and the Netherlands must together ensure, in the short term, the safety of the drivers. The European Commission can help, including financially. ‘I have contact with all of those involved and expect the situation to improve rapidly. In the end, however, the cause of the problem will have to be addressed. What that means is that the failed European asylum policy must be revised.’

The NGO "Parliamentarians for Global Action" (PGA) interviewed Dutch MP Harry van Bommel about the ratification of the Rome Statute by Armenia. Van Bommel was awarded with the “PGA Member of the month May 2015” title.

The free trade treaty known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States represents the next step in the neoliberal project, according to Ewald Engelen, who stated his view during a debate on the treaty in De Moed, the SP’s headquarters in Amersfoort. Engelen was one of around a hundred interested people present.

Nepal has recently been hit by powerful earthquakes which have claimed many thousands of victims. The approaching rainy season will make the risk of landslides so great that people must be rapidly rehoused. Commenting on the situation, SP Member of Parliament Eric Smaling argues that ‘people living in unstable regions in Nepal must be evacuated as quickly as possible to areas where there is less danger. Dutch Development Minister Lilianne  Ploumen must join the government of Nepal and the international community in working hard for this.’