Dresden - Germany on Sunday voiced confidence that it can
push through new rules which would make denying the Holocaust a crime
in the European Union.
'One or the other member states has serious concerns about it, but
I am hopeful that we will make progress,' German Justice Minister
Brigitte Zypries told reporters ahead of an informal meeting of EU
justice and interior ministers.
Germany currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Zypries said that she wants the bloc's 27 member states to adopt
the proposed legislation 'as soon as possible.'
'While preserving the freedom of expression we have to prevent
inciting hatred,' said EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini who
also attends the two-day meeting in Dresden.
However, it would be up to national governments to decide on the
length of jail sentences for people inciting racism and xenophobia,
Frattini said.
The German proposal also seeks to criminalize racist declarations
that are an incitement to violence against a specific person or
group.
While unanimous in their condemnation of those who deny the
Holocaust, EU leaders are split over whether to criminalize such
acts.
Germany views a common EU law as a moral obligation but countries
like Britain, Italy and Denmark have resisted common rules as
violating the civil liberties.
Two years ago, Luxembourg tried to use its EU presidency to push
through legislation to unify legal standards for Holocaust denial,
but was blocked by Italy on the grounds that the proposed rules
breached freedom of speech.
The Luxembourg blueprint, which Germany is studying with a view
toward copying it, says that racist declarations or Holocaust denial
will not be prosecuted if they are expressed in a way that does not
incite hatred against an individual or group of people.
Laws against denying the Holocaust already exist in Austria,
Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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