COMMENTARY: Isolating Europe's extreme right would involve difficult demarcation of boundaries
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By Petteri Tuohinen in Brussels
There is some irony in the situation in Europe.
Just as the EU prepares to celebrate the half-century mark of the European Union, whose construction work began on the ruins of fascism, a new party group, the ITS (Identity, Tradition, Sovreignty), was set up in the European Parliament. The group has been considered racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic.
The situation is also awkward, because members of the ITS group are democratically elected parliamentarians. For that reason, rules dictate that the formation of a group of their own must be followed by more power and money from the common treasury.
This in spite of the fact that the chair of the party group, France's Bruno Gollnisch, was sentenced by a court in Lyon to a three-month suspended prison term, and to pay a fine for denying the holocaust.
The Socialists in particular are trying to get other party groups to join them in the political isolation of ITS. Taking part in the struggle against the far right, Germany, the current holder of the EU Presidency, is also actively at work, demanding the criminalisation of holocaust denial lin all EU member states.
Placing a quarantine on a democratically elected party group is not without problems. Should there also be a boycott against communists, if they are linked with the dictatorships of Stalin or Mao? Should laws be passed against denying the atrocities of Stalin and Mao? It is difficult to draw a line, and the result might be that one of the cornerstones of democracy - freedom of expression - could suffer.
ITS is unlikely to cause any serious damage, as the group has only 20 members out of 785 members in the whole European Parliament. The group's viability is also weakened by the fact that it will have to cease operations if even one of its members resigns. Under the rules of the European Parliament, a party group must have at least 20 representatives.
Gollnisch denies that the ITS is racist. In his view, the party group represents, among other things, "the recognition of national interests, commitment to Christian values, and the traditions of European civilisation".
With such a moderate formulation, the goals of ITS have numerous ideological adherents in the European Parliament. For instance, the largest party group in the European Parliament, the Conservatives, have called for the preservation of Europe's Christian heritage.
Actions, rather than words, might best reveal what kind of a party group ITS really is.
A foretaste of the true nature of ITS came earlier this week when there were plans for a worldwide statement against the death penalty. Gollnisch was the only party group leader not to endorse the initiative.
According to Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the establishment of ITS reflects overall development in Europe. Is this really the case?
It is difficult to get information about the crimes committed by right-wing extremists on the broader EU level, because the statistics are not uniform, and are inadequate.
At least in Germany, there has been an increase in "politically motivated right-wing violence". The European Monitoring Centre on Racism (EUMC) reports that in 2005 nearly 16,000 crimes classified as racist were committed. In the previous year there had been 12,500 such crimes.
Anti-Semitic crimes have also increased in Germany in recent year. In 2005 there were nearly 1,700 of them.
In addition to Germany, EUMC says that in this decade, racist crimes have increased in France, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, and Finland. The EUMC has comprehensive information of only 11 member states.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is working hard on a declaration for member states to approve to mark the 50th anniversary of the EU in March.
"Common European values" are being weighed carefully. Commission President José Manuel Barroso could have something to say in this debate, considering that in his youth in Portugal, he was a Maoist radical.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 21.1.2006
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 23.1.2007 - THIS WEEK |
 COMMENTARY: Isolating Europe's extreme right would involve difficult demarcation of boundaries |
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