WRITTEN QUESTION E-3835/00

by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(7 December 2000)

Subject: EU financial support for an event involving representatives of the extreme right-wing music scene

In the light of the growth of racist, extreme right-wing and xenophobic trends in Europe, researchers have particularly warned of the dangers posed by right-wing music, as it has an impact on young people who have not yet come into close contact with extreme right-wing organisations.

1. Is the Commission aware that on 14 and 15 July 2000 a Dark Wave concert weekend with the title Arcana Europa took place in Tarancon (80 km south-east of Madrid), at which a number of leading representatives of the European extreme right-wing music scene performed, and that according to the web-pages of the organiser, Los Cantos de Maldoror, the event was subsidised, inter alia, by the European Union and Spanish regional authorities?

2. Is it true that the European Union helped to fund this concert?

If not, what measures will the European Union take against the organisers, who unlawfully advertised their concert using the EU logo and a link to the EU's home page?

If so, how can the Commission account for the decision to fund an event featuring performances by such musicians as the Austrian Gerhard Petrak (who uses the pseudonym Kadmon), belonging to the group Allerseelen, who has for some years been publishing material in extreme right-wing magazines in Germany and produces a pamphlet of his own entitled Aorta, in which he does homage to representatives of National Socialism, such as Karl-Maria Wiligut (SS brigade commander, creator of the SS death's head, Himmler's advisor on esoteric issues)?

Does the Commission agree that these are clearly expressions of racist and extreme right-wing ideologies and that under the general non-discrimination clause in Article 13 of the EC Treaty and the Commission's communication of 25 March 1998, An Action Plan against Racism(1), one of the aims of which is to promote anti-racism projects, they must be combated?

3. At the beginning of July 2000, I informed the Commission's representation that this concert had been announced on the Internet and asked it what subsidies the European Union was providing. Despite repeated inquiries (19 July, 3 August, 22 August, 7 September) as to whether the concert had received EU funding, I still have not had any reply.

Did staff at the Commission's representation in Berlin inform the appropriate departments in Brussels of my concern, and what measures have since been taken with regard to this case?

4. If the European Union provided funding for this concert without initially being aware of its content, what conclusions has it drawn, or decided to draw, from this?

Has repayment of the funding been demanded?

Has the Commission checked who was responsible for the decision to provide financial support?

(1) COM(98) 183 final.

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

1. The project Arcana Europa received Community funding in 1999 of 22 070 under the youth initiatives (local initiatives) of the Youth for Europe programme; this was paid to the association Los Cantos del Maldoror once the agreement governing the grant had been signed.

The dossier on which the selection of this project was based was proposed by the Spanish National Agency for this programme(1). It contained no racist or xenophobic content to exclude it from receiving Community funding.

2. The Commission's Representation in Berlin informed the relevant departments in Brussels of the Honourable Member's comments.

An investigation has been carried out in the Spanish National Agency and the activity report submitted has been analysed in depth. On the basis of the information it has available, the Commission was legally obliged to comply with the terms of the above contract.

3. The Honourable Member's written question provides additional information relating to activities carried out under a pseudonym by one of the musicians involved in the concert which was part of the project. The Commission was not in possession of this information when examining the dossier and was not able to take it into account when assessing its eligibility.

4. The Commission shares the Honourable Member's concerns regarding the fight against racism and xenophobia. It condemns racism and intolerance of every kind and is committed to combating them. It notes the comments made by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia concerning the dangers related to music and new technologies as vehicles for racist and xenophobic messages and the importance of positive educational measures, particularly for young people.

For this reason, even though in this specific case it does not feel that it is possible to go back on its legal obligations, the Commission has decided to give priority in the Youth Programme to projects promoting respect for human rights and combating racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. This theme was has been selected as one of the priorities for the year 2001 in agreement with the programme's Committee. It is planned to organise a major conference on this issue in Berlin in the course of 2001, in cooperation with the German Government.

In addition, the Commission will try, even more so than in the past, to put in place as many guarantees as possible concerning projects receiving financial support under the Youth Programme, and will make recommendations to this effect to the National Agencies.

(1) The National Agencies are responsible for implementing the programme at national level.