Observatory on racism is still in limbo

Date: 28/11/1996

By Mark Turner

THE future for the European observatory for racism and xenophobia remains uncertain as the debate over its location and legal status continues.

The observatory was finally given the go-ahead at the Florence summit in June, following months of discussion about how much funding it should receive and its relationship with the Council of Europe.

But EU member states have yet to decide upon its precise objectives and the legal base for its activities.

Wrangling also continues over where the observatory should be based. Vienna, Berlin, Paris and Strasbourg are among the contenders, with diplomatic sources suggesting the French are pushing hard on this and may have the edge.

Foreign ministers will discuss Commission proposals for a statute early next month, but a final decision is unlikely before next June's European summit in Amsterdam.

Question marks still remain over whether the observatory should be simply a data-gathering institution, or should make recommendations on the basis of the information that it collects.

Until the body's precise terms of reference are agreed, its legal status will remain uncertain.

The Commission has proposed that Article 235 - the catch-all provision covering areas not explicitly mentioned in the Maastricht Treaty - should be used.

But as that would require the ananimous agreement of member state governments, negotiations are likely to be long and hard.

Furthermore, Council of Europe hopes of having a substantial role in the observatory could be dashed.

Before the Florence summit, the pan-European organisation fought hard for equal-partner status on the grounds that racism extended well beyond EU boundaries.