16 February 2007
Justice ministers of the 27 member states of the European Union have tried to resolve differences over how far to go in criminalizing the incitement of hate crimes and racist violence in EU-wide laws against racism, including the denial of the Holocaust. German Justice minister Brigitte Zypries, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, is pushing her counterparts to adopt the new rules, first proposed in 2001. Zypries is aiming to get a deal by June. However, EU governments have been at pains to find agreement on common rules as a way of combating racism and xenophobia amid heightened ethnic and cultural tensions across Europe. Efforts two years ago to set minimum jail terms ended in failure. Several countries, including Britain, Italy and Denmark, believe such tough measures overstep the right to expression protected under their countries' laws. A new proposal, presented by Germany, offers EU governments more flexibility by letting them opt out of certain aspects of the EU-wide rules. The proposal calls on EU nations to punish those who publicly incite violence or hatred based on a person or group's race, color, religion, descent or ethnic origin.
More contentious aspects of the draft rule requires member states to criminalize those "publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivializing ... crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes," as listed and defined by the International Criminal Court. However, member states may opt out of the requirement to criminalize those who deny the Holocaust or other genocide if such rules do not exist under their national laws, according to the EU proposals. Opt-outs also are foreseen for racist remarks based on religious grounds and on Nazi symbols, officials said. A previous attempt in 2005 to draft common rules failed after Italy blocked a deal on the standards that would define racism and set out common aims to tackle it.
Britain, Denmark and Hungary also voiced concern that criminalizing use of symbols like the swastika could curb freedom of expression. Slovakia, Lithuania and other eastern European members also have called for communist symbols such as the hammer and sickle to be included in the plan, but EU diplomats said Wednesday no decision on that request has yet been made. Franco Frattini, the EU's justice and interior affairs commissioner has appealed to EU governments to compromise. He has backed jail terms for "concrete incitement" of racism and hatred, but said the rules should leave it up to member states to decide what type of racist incidents would constitute a punishable crime.
