Parliament told to take tougher line on racism and xenophobia

An EU proposal to criminalise racism and xenophobia does not go far enough in tackling denials of genocide and the problems that member states have in recording such crimes, the European Parliament has been told.

MEPs, experts and lawyers in the field of racism and xenophobia said this week (19 March) that the problems would remain unresolved by the proposal.

Justice ministers are to discuss the proposal next month and negotiations going on among member states over the text of the proposal, which was reintroduced by the German presidency in January after two previous attempts to pass the legislation, are thought likely to see it watered down.

Speaking at a seminar in the Parliament, Jo Goodey of the EU’s new Fundamental Rights Agency, said that while new legislation was important, some member states, including Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Malta, did not record racist incidents or crimes. "There needs also to be reporting, monitoring and…a focus on vulnerable groups," she said.

Bernard Jouanneau, a French lawyer and activist, criticised the type of genocides which would be covered by the proposal, saying that the Armenian genocide would not be covered since no international courts had ruled on it.

The proposal’s narrow scope was also criticised by Sophia in ’t Veld, a Dutch Liberal MEP, who said the law should not just punish acts of racism but all forms of discrimination including gender and sexual orientation.

The German presidency is expected to drop references in the proposal which would require member states to help investigate and prosecute citizens for crimes which are outlawed in one state but not their own. Four countries - Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the UK - are pushing for the "mutual legal assistance" provision to be omitted, saying it would infringe on freedom of speech.

France and Belgium on the other hand are in favour of the provision but are expected to be won over by restrictions on allowing exceptions to punishing racist or xenophobic crimes, said one diplomat. "We expect there will be agreement at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in April," the diplomat said.

But new member states are unlikely to have their concerns about the proposal addressed, namely their desire to see denial of Stalinist-era crimes covered. The Baltic states in particular are keen to see denials of mass deportations of their populations to Siberia outlawed under the proposal. In one section of the proposal in which denial of genocide against groups defined by "race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin" is to be punishable, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would like to see "political opinions" and "social status" included, in reference to the intellectuals, journalists, farmers and business people who were targeted for deportation in the 1940s and 1950s.

One diplomat said that this idea was unlikely to be acceptable, but that a political declaration on Stalinist era crimes might accompany the proposal.

"I’m not confident this will be accepted but I’m confident there will be an acknowledgement of these crimes - either in the main text or another format," said one diplomat.

An EU proposal to criminalise racism and xenophobia does not go far enough in tackling denials of genocide and the problems that member states have in recording such crimes, the European Parliament has been told.