Polish MEP rebuked for anti-Semitism

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering has formally reprimanded Polish MEP Maciej Giertych for publishing an anti-Semitic pamphlet.

Pöttering said yesterday in the Parliament that Giertych’s pamphlet "Civilisations at war in Europe" was a "serious breach of the fundamental rights and dignity of human beings" in which the assembly strongly believed.

But issuing a formal reprimand to Giertych was the weakest sanction available to Pöttering who has the right to suspend an MEP for up to ten days, deprive him or her of up to ten days’ daily allowances and strip an MEP of any committee chairmanships or other offices within the Parliament.

Giertych, the father of the Polish deputy prime minister, Roman Giertych, is a member of the foreign affairs committee and the delegation to the US.

Under Parliament’s rules of procedure, which were revised in 2005 after MEPs disrupted debates to protest against the EU constitution, the president can decide himself which penalties to impose on MEPs who break the assembly’s rules.

In a letter to MEPs, the president said that he intended to "safeguard the freedom of expression and the standard of conduct of members as well as the honour of the house". The pamphlet contained "several allegations of a xenophobic nature", Pöttering said.

Pöttering has also asked the Parliament’s administration to look into ways of limiting the right to use the assembly’s logo as Giertych’s pamphlet featured the symbol on its front page.

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering has formally reprimanded Polish MEP Maciej Giertych for publishing an anti-Semitic pamphlet.