Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-15-Speech-3-027"
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"en.20000315.2.3-027"2
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"Mr President, racism, xenophobia and antisemitism are completely incompatible with the European Union’s political principles. Please allow me to make a direct reference. These evil and harmful human phenomena are also completely at odds with the Bible. Indeed, the word of God repeatedly and emphatically speaks of hospitality and mercifulness to strangers, as well as true charity as a consequence of our love for God, the Creator of all mankind.
Thanks to the fruitful and probing discussions held within the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, and also the opinions presented by the rapporteurs of the other committees, this report now lies before you in this form. The amendments have been carefully weighed up within the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, and quite a few have been honoured. Mainly to avoid duplication, I will only partly support the newly tabled amendments. All in all, the present report requires, in my opinion, regular follow-ups or continuous re-assessment. It would mean a great deal to me if this were to be accomplished.
Meanwhile, the day-to-day reality is disappointing. Racism, xenophobia and antisemitism are realities in Eastern and Western Europe alike. However, this situation should not lead to debilitating mutual recriminations or imputations. Quite the opposite, in fact: a common social threat requires a common, political effort.
Hence the expediency of the Commission’s communication in May last year and the present report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. The European Parliament sets great store by countering racism, xenophobia and antisemitism in the candidate countries, as is evident from the report and opinions. This kind of attention also requires us to look into our own hearts. Mrs Ludford’s report bears witness to this. Indeed, the European Union’s moral standards for newcomers apply just as much to the Member States themselves.
With regard to manifestations of racism, xenophobia and antisemitism, the Member States are by no means holier than thou. In fact, extreme-right movements from Western Europe are looking to establish contact with like-minded people in Central and Eastern Europe and are fanning the fire of doom there, the fire which was once kindled by the secret services of the former communist regimes no less. The enormity of the issues affecting the Roma people in Central and Eastern Europe stands out for two reasons. Quantitatively, because it affects several million people and qualitatively, because the very existence of this extremely diversified people is at stake.
This is the Roma issue with all its intricacies in a nutshell. For example, how can the Roma break through the social barrier and widespread discrimination whilst maintaining their identity? How can they be galvanised into social involvement and into achieving the much-needed change in mentality?
Fortunately, such profound questions are heard – officially and unofficially – within the candidate Member States. They have led to well thought-through and promising initiatives and projects at national level, but these absorb a huge amount of funding. In a nutshell, the EU’s future Member States are making a direct appeal for solidarity to the current EU Members. Or does the Western expert’s razor-sharp criticism levelled at the European Union for its dismissive attitude towards Roma asylum-seekers cut ice after all? I quote: “On the one hand, the Central and Eastern European countries are pilloried on account of their policy of structural discrimination etc. and on the other hand, most EU countries are banishing the Roma collectively on account of them being economic migrants”.
The latter injustice should certainly not be missed out from the trio of racism, xenophobia and antisemitism in the candidate Member States. In the wake of the holocaust, the systematic mass murder of millions of European Jews, antisemitism has still not disappeared from Central and Eastern Europe. Extreme left and extreme right did not – and still do not – shrink from using this execrable and pernicious political instrument of battle.
Indeed, antisemitism does not appear to bear any relevance to the numerical presence of Jews. For example, demagogues will take pleasure in pointing out the Jewish background – founded or not, as the case may be – of their hated political rivals. And this is also borne out by the umpteen reprints of the notorious antisemitic protocols of the Wisemen of Sion, this fictitious account by the tsarist secret service dating back to 1897, of the Jewish grasp for world domination across the entire region. Still less credible are the conspiracy ideas cooked up by the ultra-nationalist grouping where the so-called traditional enemies, i.e. the national minorities in various candidate countries, are systematically associated with Jews. In this light, Jews and Hungarians are seen as traitors of the mother country in Romania. The same goes for Jews and Germans, and for Jews and Czechs in Czechoslovakia, Jews and Germans in Poland and Jews and Turks in Bulgaria.
Paragraph 32 of the draft resolution should be read against this dark background. The European Parliament has called for constant political and social vigilance towards, and for stricter constitutional prosecution of, the unabating antisemitic comments expressed within the various candidate countries, bearing in mind that latent antisemitic feelings and thoughts are fairly widespread."@en1
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