Original sentence: Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg insisted that the denial of the crimes of communism is analogous to denying the crimes of Nazism, which in many EU countries is a criminal offense, arguing that "there is a fundamental concern here that totalitarian systems be measured by the same standard".Denial of all totalitarian crimes has been outlawed in only four member states: Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Hungary.EU justice spokesman Matthew Newman was reported as saying: "There is no consensus on it.Following its announcement, a number of political developments have taken place relating to the issues raised in the Prague Declaration.However, The European Commission rejected the proposal, citing an independent report it had commissioned to examine the existing legal framework of member states.In December 2010, the foreign ministers of six Eastern-European EU countries called upon the European Commission to make "the approval, denial or belittling of communist crimes" an EU-wide criminal offence.The different member states have wildly differing approaches," and "...the bottom line is, obviously, what [the communists] did was horrendous, but communist regimes did not target ethnic minorities"
Edited sentence: " Eventually, Reding concluded that she considers this to be a matter for the national governments to decide, arguing that the conditions to make a legislative proposal at the EU level has not been met at this stage."There is a fundamental concern here that totalitarian systems be measured by the same standard," he said.Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the denial of the crimes of communism is completely comparable to denying the crimes of Nazism, which in many EU countries is a criminal offense.Denial of all totalitarian crimes has already been outlawed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Hungary.Following the adoption of the Prague Declaration, a number of other political initatives have been taken to implement the principles and suggestions set forth by the declaration.In December 2010, the foreign ministers of six EU countries called upon the European Commission to make "the approval, denial or belittling of communist crimes" an EU-wide criminal offence.Lithuania lost one third of its population during the Soviet occupation.Lithuanian foreign minister Audronius Azubalis described the letter as an "alarm bell" to Brussels, adding that "everybody knows about the crimes of Nazism, but only part of Europe is aware of the crimes of communism".The European Commission responded that it took the proposal "very seriously," and that crimes of totalitarian regimes "are a part of the collective memory of Europe