Activites

• 2008/12/06 Final act published in Official Journal
• #2908
• 2008/11/27 Council Meeting
• 2008/11/27 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2008/11/27 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 2007/11/29 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0552/2007 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a report drawn up by Martine ROURE (PES, FR) and made some amendments to the proposal on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. The main amendments are as follows:Recitals: new recitals state that legislative policy should reflect the fact that in a democratic society the criminal law is always a last resort, and should take into account all the values at stake, including the right to free expression and the right of all individuals to equal consideration and respect. The commission of a racist or xenophobic offence by an office holder should be treated as an aggravating circumstance.Minimum level: a further new recital states that the Framework Decision establishes a minimum level of harmonisation and its effectiveness is limited by the derogations which it provides.Scope: a Member State shall not exempt from criminal liability speeches or behaviour liable to stir up hatred. Respect for freedom of religion shall not hinder the effectiveness of the Framework Decision.Public order: MEPs suggest that Member States may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner which is threatening, abusive or insulting (and not include the element ‘likely to disturb public order’ which was proposed by the Commission). Liability of instigators: liability of a legal person will not exclude criminal proceedings against natural persons who are instigators, as well as perpetrators or accessories.Non-regression clause: the report includes a new Article 7a which provides for a non-regression clause to ensure that the implementation of the Framework Directive does not lead to a weakening of the existing levels of protection under Article 6 of the ‘race’ directive (Directive 2000/43/EC). Member States may adopt or maintain a higher level of protection in the fight against racism and xenophobia than that arising from the provisions of this Framework Decision. Implementation of the Framework Decision shall in no circumstances constitute grounds for lowering the level of protection already ensured by the Member States in the areas governed by the Framework Decision. Nothing in the Framework Decision may be interpreted as affecting any obligations incumbent on the Member States under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 7 March 1966. The Member States shall implement the Framework Decision in line with those obligations.Review clause: the report calls for the Parliament to be consulted over the review of the Framework Decision, and the opinions of the NGOs and of the European Agency for Fundamental Rights.

• 2007/11/14 Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation
  • A6-0444/2007
• 2007/11/12 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2007/07/27 Formal reconsultation of Parliament
• 2007/07/19 Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published
  • 11522/2007 summary

    Following the examination of the Commission’s initial proposal, the Council adopted a new version of the draft Council Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. Background: the Commission’s initial proposal was presented in November 2001. However, following in-depth discussions, the “Justice and Home Affairs” Council was not able to reach an agreement on this proposal. The European Parliament gave its opinion on the proposal on 4 July 2002.In February 2005, the “Justice and Home Affairs” Council requested its preparatory bodies to examine the draft Framework Decision. A draft compromise text was adopted in June 2005 however the Council was still not able to reach an agreement on the text.Finally, in February 2007, the “Justice and Home Affairs” Council held a general discussion on the Council Framework Decision and it reached a general approach on the text in April 2007.  This is the compromise text which is being submitted to the European Parliament for “reconsultation” given that the original text from 2001 was subject to major amendments.Main amendments of the draft Framework Decision:The new proposal establishes that the following intentional conduct will be punishable in all EU Member States:publicly inciting to violence or hatred, even by dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin;publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising;                                                 I.      crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Articles 6, 7 and 8) directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin,                                               II.      crimes defined by the Tribunal of Nuremberg (Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, London Agreement of 1945) directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.Member States may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting. The reference to religion is intended to cover, at least, conduct which is a pretext for directing acts against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. Member States will ensure that these conducts are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between 1 and 3 years of imprisonment.Member States acknowledge that combating racism and xenophobia require various kinds of measures in a comprehensive framework and may not be limited to criminal matters.This Framework Decision is limited to combating particularly serious forms of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.Other specifications brought about by the revised text include :-“Descent”: this term refers mainly to persons or groups of persons who descend from persons who could be identified by certain characteristics (such as race or colour), but not necessarily all of these characteristics still exist. In spite of that, because of their descent, such persons or groups of persons may be subject to hatred or violence.-"Religion": this term broadly refers to persons defined by reference to their religious convictions or beliefs;-"Hatred" refers to hatred based on race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.Two years after adoption of this Framework Decision, Member States shall take the necessary measures to comply with it. Controversial issues:- Article 7, paragraph 2: this Article stipulates that the Framework Decision shall not have the effect of requiring Member States to take measures in contradiction to fundamental principles relating to freedom of association and freedom of expression, in particular freedom of the press and the freedom of expression in other media as they result from constitutional traditions or rules governing the rights and responsibilities of, and the procedural guarantees for, the press or other media where these rules relate to the determination or limitation of liability. This Article caused concern to the Commission which issued a legal order reserve on this Article. It feared that this Article may be interpreted as authorising certain Member States to secure national law on the right of the Union. It th erefore specified in a declaration annexed to the text, the rule of the law of the Union. The text of this measure was however maintained in the draft Framework Decision as it was considered of utmost importance for some Member States. - Article 1, paragraph 1, points c) and d): the extension of the measure to crimes not motivated by racism or xenophobia : some delegations requested the extension to behaviour not motivated by racism or xenophobia, from hatred and violence and publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. A new recital was added stating that the Framework Decision does not prevent a Member State from adopting provisions in national law which extend Article 1 (c) and (d) to crimes directed against a group of persons defined by other criteria than race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin, such as social status or political convictions.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, FRATTINI Franco
• #2794
• 2007/04/19 Council Meeting
  • 2794 summary

    Pending the lifting of some Parliamentary reservations, the Council reached a general approach on this Framework Decision.The text establishes that the following intentional conduct will be punishable in all EU Member States:-          publicly inciting to violence or hatred, even by dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin;-          publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising;-          crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Articles 6, 7 and 8) directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin, and-          crimes defined by the Tribunal of Nuremberg (Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, London Agreement of 1945) directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.Member States may choose to punish only conduct which is either carried out in a manner likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting. The reference to religion is intended to cover, at least, conduct which is a pretext for directing acts against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. Member States will ensure that these conducts are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between 1 and 3 years of imprisonment.The Framework Decision will not have the effect of modifying the obligation to respect fundamental rights and fundamental legal principles, including freedom of expression and association, as enshrined in Article 6 of the Treaty of the EU. Member States will not have to modify their constitutional rules and fundamental principles relating to freedom of association, freedom of the press and the freedom of expression. After its adoption, Member States will have 2 years to comply with the Framework Decision.Statement to be inserted in the minutes of the Council at the time of the adoption of the Framework Decision:- The Council invites the Commission to examine and to report to the Council within two years after the entry into force of the Framework Decision, whether an additional instrument is needed, to cover publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes directed against a group of persons defined by other criteria than race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin such as social status or political convictions.- The Berlin declaration adopted on 25 March 2007 stated that "European integration shows that we have learnt the painful lessons of a history marked by bloody conflict". In that light the Commission will organise a public European hearing on crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and warcrimes committed by totalitarian regimes as well as those who publicly condone, deny, grossly distort or trivialise them, and emphasises the need for appropriate redress of injustice and – if appropriate - submit a proposal for a framework decision on these crimes.

• #2781
• 2007/02/15 Council Meeting
  • 2781
• #2664
• 2005/06/02 Council Meeting
  • 2664
• #2642
• 2005/02/24 Council Meeting
  • 2642 summary

    In view of the importance and the added value of the instrument, the Council decided to resume examination of the Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia as a matter of urgency.To give the new Member States time to examine the text, the Council requested its preparatory bodies to examine the draft Framework Decision on the basis of the text put before the JHA Council at its meeting on 27 and 28 February 2003. The JHA Council will return to this Framework Decision at its next meeting.It is recalled that in July 1996, the Council adopted Joint Action 96/443/JHA concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia. This instrument contains provisions to harmonise the criminal law of Member States and to improve mutual assistance in combating racism and xenophobia.

• #2489
• 2003/02/27 Council Meeting
  • 2489 summary

    The Council examined some outstanding issues of the proposal for a Framework Decision for combating racism and xenophobia. Discussions focused on the introduction in a Framework Decision of references to national constitutional rules and on the implementation of mutual legal assistance with regard to double criminality. The Council instructed its relevant bodies to further examine these points with a view to reaching an agreement oat one of its forthcoming meetings.�

• #2469
• 2002/11/28 Council Meeting
  • 2469 summary

    The Council held an in-depth debate, based on a Presidency global compromise which was broadly welcomed, on the draft Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia. The debate focused on the key provisions which define offences concerning racism and xenophobia conduct. The main concern expressed by several delegations was how to find a balanced approach between, on the one hand, the scope of criminal liability and, on the other hand, constitutional rules and fundamental principles relating to respect for the freedom of association, freedom of the press and freedom of expression. In the light of the discussion and bearing in mind a number of reservations, the Presidency proposed to amend its compromise. In particular, it decided to broad the scope of the text and to recall on it that this Framework Decision shall respect Article 6 of the Treaty and will not compromise constitutional principles and values of the Member States. On that basis, the Council instructed its relevant bodies to examine the draft Framework Decision with a view to reaching a political agreement at one of its forthcoming sessions.�

• 2002/07/04 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0363/2002 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Ozan CEYHUN (Greens/EFA, Germany) on the Commission's proposal for a framework decision. (Please refer to the document dated 23/05/02.) Parliament made it clear that the proposal does not preclude Member States from adopting or maintaining legislation affording a higher degree of protection against racism and xenophobia under criminal law. It also specified that each Member State must ensure that victims of racist or xenophobic offences have full access to information, aid facilities, effective protection, appropriate legal remedies and legal assistance.�

• 2002/07/03 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2002/05/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0189/2002
• #2423
• 2002/04/25 Council Meeting
• 2002/01/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2001/11/29 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2001)0664 summary

    PURPOSE : to establish a Framework Decision for the approximation of laws relating to offences involving racism and xenophobia. CONTENT : Racism and xenophobia are direct violations of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law upon which the EU is founded. Some difficulties have been encountered regarding judicial cooperation in this area and there is a need for further improvement of Member States' criminal laws in order to ensure the implementation of comprehensive legislation to fight racism and xenophobia. The Framework Decision: - defines a common criminal approach in the EU in order to ensure that the same behaviour constitutes an offence in all Member States and that there are effective penalties for natural and legal persons having committed or being liable for such offences. - states that sanctions for legal persons may include exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid; temporary or permanent disqualification from the practice of commercial activities; a judicial winding-up order, or closure of establishments which have been used for committing the offence. - provides that racist or xenophobic motivation is considered an aggravating factor when imposing penalties for ordinary offences. - provides that an offence concerning racism and xenophobia committed in the exercise of a professional activity is regarded as an aggravating circumstance, since it entails an abuse and is particularly reprehensible. - ensures that investigations of offences involving racism and xenophobia are not dependent on reports or accusations made by victims, who are often reluctant to initiate legal proceedings. - contains procedural provisions on jurisdiction, as well as extradition and prosecution. The provisions on the latter will no longer be applicable as soon as the Commission's proposal for a European arrest warrant is adopted, which will replace extradition in the EU. For the moment, the relevant article provides that a Member State which does not extradite its own nationals must take the necessary measures to establish its jurisdiction over and, where appropriate, prosecute the offences concerned when committed by its own nationals on the territory of another Member State.�

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, FRATTINI Franco

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2001)0664
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0189/2002
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0363/2002
• Debate in Council: 2469
• Debate in Council: 2489
• Debate in Council: 2642
• Debate in Council: 2664
• Debate in Council: 2781
• Debate in Council: 2794
• Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published: 11522/2007
• Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation: A6-0444/2007
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0552/2007

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)