Sumario: Speech by Vice-President of the European Commission Frattini: "The Need for a Unified Stance in Combating Racism and Xenophobia" (Vienna: 22 June 2006)
Speech by Vice-President Franco Frattini, European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security; "The Need for a Unified Stance in Combating Racism and Xenophobia"; Seminar on racism and xenophobia, Vienna.
European societies are multicultural and multi-ethnic, and their diversity is a positive and enriching factor. But we are still far from the extraordinary melting pot the American society realized passing through decades of civil rights battles.
Unfortunately, racist and xenophobic forms of conduct persist around the world and events in different parts of Europe show the continuing existence of racist and xenophobic attitudes.
Racism and xenophobia are a direct violation of the principles of dignity, liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, principles upon which the European Union is founded and which are common to the Member States as stated in Article 6, par. 1 of the TEU.
The European Union is bound to respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, as well as general principles of Community law, as stated in Article 6, par. 2 of the TEU.
I want to restate the Commission's condemnation of all forms of racism and xenophobia and my firm commitment to making full use of all its powers to fight these phenomena.
This task should be, more than ever, a priority at all levels, international, European, national and local. The EU, which by its very nature aims to deepen solidarity and unity between peoples, must be at the forefront of the fight against all forms of racism.
To achieve this important dimension we must promote the values of freedom and solidarity, most of all, through an active policy of cultural integration. In other words, we can't bind ourselves, Europe can't bind itself to the sole role of the watchdog, that way underestimating the need to feed and grow the roots of dialogue and reciprocity which are the real weapons against racism and xenophobia.
So, on one hand, we must encourage and promote a monitoring attitude, strengthened by a new shared legislation; on the other hand we must promote and engage ourselves into specific actions focused on the topic of integration (particularly in the subsidiarity dimension: local authorities, city councils, Regions).
In conclusion we must avoid to be victims of our own language (our documents frequently base the legitimation of our, European, dimension and the pride of our common European belonging upon the punctual - sometimes bureaucratic - reference to the legal/juridical frame too many people don't know). We must escape from this sort of golden cage. Europe has still to engage strongly, perhaps - and unfortunately (as many events told us) - into a deep and hard work of bringing people together. We face
and try to rule migration, but many MS don't yet know the difficult and long roadmap of integration.
I regret that Council has so far not been able to agree on the proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia, presented by the Commission in 2001.
Under this proposal, Member States would have to punish racist behaviour by imposing criminal penalties.
Apparently, Member States' concerns relate to the need to establish a fair balance between repression of racist and xenophobic behaviour and fundamental rights, notably freedom of expression.
Let me be clear: even if European societies become multicultural, the freedom of speech, as an essential part of Europe's values and traditions, is simply not negotiable. Governments or other public authorities can not prescribe or authorise opinions expressed by individuals. Conversely, opinions expressed by individuals engage these individuals, and only them. They do not engage a country, a people, a religion. And we should not allow others to pretend that they do. At the same time, freedom
of speech cuts both ways: freedom of speech is the basis not only of the possibility to publish an opinion, but also to criticise it. All this is an inherent trait of our contemporary democratic European societies, and we have a duty to preserve it.
Coming now to the specific issue of racism, there are limits to freedom of expression that are defined and enforced by the laws of the Member States of the European Union. These limits are set to protect other fundamental rights. In particular, Member States' domestic legislation already prohibits - albeit to a more or less far-reaching extent - racist and xenophobic behaviour and speech.
Let's dispel a myth: there is no contradiction in simultaneously protecting people against racist speech and making sure that freedom of expression is and remains one of the key pillars upon which our societies, and the EU, are founded. How to do it, precisely, may not be an easy task, and I am the first one to admit that it requires careful consideration and in-depth discussion. But I cannot agree that protecting people from racist and xenophobic behaviour is incompatible with the basic
principles of a democratic society. Rather, it should be one of its natural consequences!
The European institutions have reaffirmed their determination to defend human rights and basic freedoms on numerous occasions and have condemned all forms of intolerance.
Article 29 of the TEU stresses the importance of preventing and combating racism and xenophobia.
The Action Plan adopted by the Council and the Commission in 1999 addresses racism and xenophobia as a specific form of crime which can be best combated by a general EU approach.
The Hague Programme recalls the European Council's firm commitment to oppose any form of racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia.
Nevertheless, we still do not have a European legislative instrument stating that racist and xenophobic conduct is unlawful in Europe.
As I affirmed several times, the EU needs further legislation on racism and xenophobia. As a matter of fact, the EU already has legislation dealing with incitement to violence and hatred for a racist or xenophobic purpose, namely the 1996 Joint Action on combating racism and xenophobia. This instrument gives Member States the possibility to choose between punishing racist and xenophobic behaviour or derogating from the principle of dual criminality.
Nevertheless, as the European Parliament stressed several times, this Joint Action needs to be revised and strengthened. When Europe is striving to become a common area of justice, we need EU legislation establishing that the same racist and xenophobic behaviour is punished everywhere in the European Union. We should give perpetrators a strong signal that there will be no hiding place within the EU for their activities. We should be showing victims that the EU as a whole is acting to protect
their rights.
I remain very committed to re-launching discussions on the Framework Decision and I urge the Council to adopt the proposal without diluting it. I am confident that Member States can find an agreement.
In this regard, I very much welcome the recent declaration of the Italian Minister of Justice that Italy firmly supports the adoption of this Framework Decision.
We cannot put our society at risk by showing that we are not able to agree at European Level on such an important question
Finally, I would like to thank you, the AT Presidency and the EUMC for organising this seminar together with the Commission.
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