WRITTEN QUESTION E-3922/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council. Increase in xenophobia in Europe.
Date: 2000-12-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, racism

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/187

Strictly legally speaking there is a case to disqualify beaches if salmonella/enterovirus are found to be
present and to pursue Member States for not testing for salmonella and/or enterovirus. However, there is
no statistical information to allow for a substantiated and meaningful evaluation of the situation across the
Community. The Commission is currently assessing what action has been taken in all Member States to
follow-up these parameters.

(2001/C 174 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3921/00

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 December 2000)

Subject: The Dolomites as a European cultural heritage site

Does the Commission agree that it would be appropriate officially to declare the Dolomites a European
cultural heritage site?

Answer given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(8 February 2001)

Article 151 (ex Article 128) of the EC Treaty gives the Community only limited powers in the area of
culture. Action by the Community must be aimed at encouraging cooperation between Member States and,
if necessary, supporting and supplementing their action in a certain number of areas,
including the
protection, preservation and development of the cultural heritage. This objective is pursued through the
Culture 2000 programme, the new framework programme to promote cultural cooperation in Europe.

Consequently, the Community is not in a position to declare that a natural site such as the Dolomites
should be listed as a (cid:145)European cultural heritage site(cid:146). Even so, the Commission would point out to the
Honourable Member that the fact of listing a site as forming part of the cultural heritage does not
necessarily mean that it is protected. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, protection regimes
are the exclusive responsibility of the Member States.

(2001/C 174 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3922/00

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council

(20 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 Council 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?

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.