Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-25-Speech-3-379"
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"en.20090325.30.3-379"2
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".
Madam President, a year ago, in April 2008, a hearing was held for the first time in the European Union on the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes. The hearing, organised jointly by the Commission and the Slovene Presidency, marked the start of a process, and the Commission is determined to pursue this process step by step.
The Prague Declaration of 3 June 2008 on European Conscience and Communism contains a number of ideas and propositions that will also be taken on board when preparing this report. The Commission is willing to examine what scope it has to contribute to projects such as a European Memory and Conscience Platform, which was just mentioned by Deputy Prime Minister Vondra, which is designed to promote information exchanges and networking between national organisations active in this field.
More generally the Commission will examine how Community programmes, for example, the one I am responsible for – Europe for Citizens – might help heighten European public awareness on these issues.
I am looking forward to the debate.
This is a difficult but necessary process, as it is not just an important issue which will help us to understand the European Union’s common history, the past, better, but also one which affects the future of European integration – a process which is not just economic but of course also has cultural and historical ramifications.
It is of course for the Member States to find their own way forward in taking decisions to deal with victims’ expectations and promote reconciliation. The European Union’s role can only be to facilitate this process by encouraging discussion and furthering the sharing of experiences and best practices.
The Commission regards Parliament’s written declaration on the proclamation of 23 August as a European day of remembrance for the victims of Stalinism and Nazism as an important initiative, which it supports in the interests of preserving the memory of totalitarian crimes and raising public awareness, particularly among the younger generations.
The hearing of 8 April 2008 showed that the Member States in Western Europe need to be more aware of the tragic history of the Member States in the East, which is also part of our shared, common, European history. We must respond to this lack of sensitivity if we are to avoid the Union being divided on a serious issue which should instead unite us.
The Commission hopes that the parliaments of the Member States, to which this declaration is addressed, will implement this declaration in the manner most appropriate in the light of their own history and sensibilities.
The Commission is now focussing its attention on the report which it will submit in 2010 – next year – as the Council has requested. This report will provide the opportunity for further political debate on the need for new EU initiatives.
To prepare the ground for this report, a study has been launched with the aim of providing a factual overview of the various legal instruments, methods and practices used in the Member States to safeguard the memory of totalitarian crime. The study will be completed by the end of this year.
We are also drawing on the contributions made at the hearing and published by the Slovene Presidency."@en1
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