WRITTEN QUESTION E-2578/02

by Kathalijne Buitenweg (Verts/ALE)and Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 September 2002)

Subject: Racism and xenophobia: sale in petrol stations and tourist shops in Italy of bottles of wine with labels bearing photos of Hitler and Mussolini and Nazi slogans

We fairly regularly receive reports from citizens shocked about bottles of wine being sold in shops in Italy. The bottles concerned carry labels with pictures of Hitler and Mussolini and slogans such as Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!, Blut und Ehre and Führerwein.

They are not being sold on the black market, but in tourist shops and petrol station shops. The most recent report we received was of bottles of wine being sold at Agip and Q8 petrol stations in the Trento area.

Insofar as we have been able to ascertain, the spreading of propaganda of this kind is prohibited under Italian law, but in practice action is not always taken by the Italian judicial authorities. This was confirmed by an ECRI report on the situation in Italy published on 23 April.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council is currently considering a proposal submitted by the Commission for a framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia(1).

1. Does the Commission intend propaganda of the kind described above to come under the definitions in the proposed Articles 3 and 4 (in particular 4(e))?

2. Does the Commission agree that material of this kind is prohibited in Italy but that such cases are not being very actively prosecuted? Did the Commission observe this to be the case when investigating the situation in the Member States prior to drawing up the proposal? Does this problem also occur in other Member States?

3. Does the Commission have grounds for believing that implementation of the framework decision (assuming that the proposed definitions are not amended) will give a new impetus to prosecution? What can and will the Commission do to prevent the framework decision and national (implementing) legislation from remaining a dead letter as far as this kind of propaganda is concerned?

(1) COM(01) 664 OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002, p. 269.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2002)

The Commission roundly condemns all forms of racist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic behaviour, which constitutes an intolerable violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms on which the Union is based and which are common to all the Member States. It reiterates its commitment to combating racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic phenomena by all the means provided for in the Treaties.

At Union level, on 15 July 1996 the Council adopted a Joint Action concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia(1), based on Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union. The Joint Action stressed the need to prevent the perpetrators of such offences from taking advantage of the fact that treatment varies between Member States by moving from one Member State to another in order to escape prosecution. The Member States were asked to ensure that certain types of racist and xenophobic behaviour listed in the Joint Action be penalised or, alternatively, pending the adoption of the necessary provisions, to derogate from the principle of double prosecution for these offences. The offences listed in the Joint Action include the public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material containing expressions of racism and xenophobia.

In November 2001 the Commission adopted a Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia(2), which is currently under discussion in the Council. Article 4(e) of the proposal, which concerns the public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material containing expressions of racism and xenophobia, would be applicable in the case presented here.

As regards prosecution of these offences, the Commission proposal also contains a provision (Article 11) stipulating that each Member State ought to ensure that investigations into or prosecution of offences referred to in Articles 4 and 5 are not dependent on the report or accusation made by a victim of the offence, at least in cases where offences referred to in Articles 4 and 5 (including Article 4(e)) have been committed.

The Commission has no specific information regarding the situation described by the Honourable Member or similar situations in other Member States. However, it can confirm that, according to the information at its disposal, the dissemination of the emblems and symbols of organisations and associations which advocate discrimination or violence on the basis of race, ethnic identity or religion is an offence under Italian criminal law.

(1) OJ L 185, 24.7.1996.

(2) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002.