WRITTEN QUESTION E-3923/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission. Increase in xenophobia in Europe.
Date: 2000-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, racism

C 174 E/188

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

19.6.2001

Reply

(8 March 2001)

The Council draws the attention of the Honourable Parliamentarian to its reply given to Written

1.
Question No E-3089/00.

2.
As concerns measures to combat direct or indirect discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin,
religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, the Council recalls that on the occasion of its session
of 27 November 2000, a Decision establishing a Community action programme was adopted to combat
discrimination (2001 to 2006) (1). In this Decision the Commission is invited to regularly monitor the
programme in cooperation with the Member States and to evaluate it with the assistance of independent
experts.

(1) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 23.

(2001/C 174 E/200)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3923/00

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(13 December 2000)

Subject: Increase in xenophobia in Europe

The annual report recently published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
notes a significant increase in racism in the European Union. Dr Beate Winkler, the Director of the Centre,
noted that Sweden, France, Germany and many other countries are showing an alarming rise in cases of
racist violence, the main victims of which are African and Arab immigrants, Albanians and Roma, while at
the same time there has also been an increase in attacks on synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, and mosques.
The 1999 report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia also stresses the
significant increase in the use of the Internet by neo-Nazi organisations to promote their political and
racist propaganda.

The declaration by the European Conference against Racism held in Strasbourg last month stresses that
Europe is a community of shared values, multicultural in its past, present and future. How effective are the
measures taken by the Commission and in what way is it possible to honour the Strasbourg commitments
to combat racism and racist discrimination, xenophobia, religious fanaticism, intolerance, anti-Semitism
and Islamophobia, which threaten democratic societies and their fundamental values?

Answer given by Ms Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2001)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concern about the many acts of racist, xenophobic and
anti-Semitic violence perpetrated in various Member States and mentioned in the annual report of the
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. These acts of violence cannot be tolerated in a
Union that is based on the principles of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and basic freedoms
and the rule of law.

Amsterdam gave the Union the necessary legal instruments to combat racism and xenophobia at European
level.

On the one hand, the provisions of the Treaty on European Union concerning police and judicial
cooperation explicitly provide for the Union to take action to prevent and combat racism and xenophobia.
Accordingly, the new Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union includes the preventing and combating
of racism and xenophobia among the priorities for creating an area of freedom, security and justice.
In October 1999, at the Tampere European Council devoted to the implementation of the area of freedom,
security and justice, the Heads of State and Government once again stressed the importance of European
cooperation in this area.

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/189

In 1996, the Council adopted a Joint Action to combat racism and xenophobia, the main objective of
which is to ensure effective judicial cooperation between Member States in the fight against
these
phenomena and to prevent the perpetrators of such offences from exploiting the differences in legislation
within the Union to avoid criminal proceedings.
It provides in particular, pending the adoption of
provisions to make this type of behaviour a criminal offence, for Member States to derogate from the
principle of double criminality in this area. Given the increase in the number of racist offences in the
Member States, and especially the growing use of the Internet to commit offences of this kind, as was
recently pointed out by two rulings by one French and one German court, the Commission intends to
strengthen European criminal provisions in this area by proposing to the Council the adoption of a
Council framework directive concerning racist and xenophobic activities both off-line and on-line. This
text will take account of the replies to the questionnaire to evaluate the implementation of the Joint Action
of 15 July 1996, which was sent to the Member States by the Presidency on 12 December 2000. This
point will also be mentioned in the forthcoming Commission communication on combating cybercrime.

On the other hand, on the basis of Article 13 (ex Article 6a) of the EC Treaty, the Council, on 29 June
2000, adopted Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons
irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (1) and, on 27 November 2000, Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a
general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2).

In this connection, on 27 November 2000 the Council adopted Decision 2000/750/EC establishing a
Community action programme to combat discrimination (2001 to 2006) (2), with the objective of
supporting and supplementing Community anti-discrimination legislation by improving the understanding
of the problem, strengthening the ability of the players to take action and raising awareness.

As part of the preparatory measures for the implementation of the action programme, in 1999 and 2000
the Commission published calls for proposals that make it possible to provide support, within the limits of
the resources available, for proposals which are conducted as part of a transnational partnership, cover at
least two forms of discrimination referred to in Article 13 of the EC Treaty, are useful for the Community
and can make a significant contribution to the future development and the implementation of Community
policy in this area. The result of the evaluation that is currently under way on the measures carried out in
1999 will be disseminated in March 2001.

The European Monitoring Centre also contributes to the combating of racism and xenophobia, and the
establishment of the European Racism and Xenophobia Information Network (raxen), which was launched
in 2000, will provide significant impetus to the work of the Community and the Member States in the
future.

Lastly, the Commission is in the process of incorporating the combating of racism into other Community
policies. An evaluation report drawn up by independent experts has just taken stock of the way in which
the anti-racism dimension has been taken into account in Community policies hitherto, and will thus make
it possible for the Commission to draw up a set of guidelines and proposals for implementation, in order
to, among other things, broaden the scope of the fight against racism in areas of the Commission(cid:146)s work
that have not yet been concerned, so that this dimension becomes a fully-fledged strategic objective.

(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000.
(2) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000.

(2001/C 174 E/201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3930/00

by Joaquim Miranda (GUE/NGL) and Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Safeguarding the European shipbuilding industry

(13 December 2000)

The European Union(cid:146)s shipbuilding industry is known to be experiencing problems, especially in Portugal.
Nevertheless,
indifferent to this situation Soflusa, a company belonging to the CP group in Portugal,
responsible for the river link between Lisbon and Barreiro, decided to purchase, from an Australian
company (Austral Ships), eight new catamaran-type ships for a total value of approximately PTE 10
thousand million, 60 % of which is funded by the Community.