THE HAGUE, 01/02/06 - Labour (PvdA) will vote in favour of the Netherlands' planned mission to the Afghan province of Uruzgan tomorrow. This is virtually certain following statements by party leader Wouter Bos yesterday.

The PvdA is "positive" on the course of the debate on the mission to Uruzgan. "We have a number of requirements and the cabinet has moved in the right direction in the recent period," said Bos after consultations with his party.

The PvdA will field its final judgement tomorrow in the debate with the government. "The report of the MIVD military intelligence service and the hearings with experts on Monday make it easier to judge. There is movement in the right direction," according to Bos.

PvdA MPs will be allowed by Bos to diverge from the party position tomorrow if it comes to an individual vote. But nobody within his party has real objections in principle or of conscience, he disclosed. This had been the case regarding sending Dutch soldiers to Iraq in 2003, when a handful of PvdA MPs voted against this mission.

The Christian democrats (CDA), conservatives (VVD), and orthodox Christian SGP and ChristenUnie parties are expected to vote for the NATO mission. This small majority would become a robust majority with PvdA support.