Brussels - The European Commission on Friday threw its
weight behind a German proposal to push through new rules which would
make denying the Holocaust a crime in the European Union.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said he 'very much
welcomes and fully supports' the plan drawn up by Germany, which
currently runs the agenda-setting presidency of the 27-member bloc.
The commissioner made his comments ahead of the International Day
of Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust on January 27.
'The commission firmly condemns and rejects all manifestations of
anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia,' Frattini said in a statement.
While freedom of expression is part of Europe's values and
traditions, its democratic societies also allowed to fight racist
speech through penal law, the commissioner added.
However, Frattini said earlier this month that it should be up to
national governments to decide on the length of jail sentences for
people inciting racism and xenophobia.
Germany has said that it wants the bloc's member states to adopt
the proposed legislation as soon as possible.
The German proposal also seeks to criminalize racist declarations
that are an incitement to violence against a specific person or
group. The aim of the plan is to harmonize national legal systems in
their approach to combating racism and xenophobia.
But while being 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 a
violation of 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 
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