The European watchdog on racist and xenophobic phenomena (EUMC), based in Vienna, published a Report with the title “Attitudes of the majority to minorities” on 15 March. The document analyses the data gathered between 1997 and 2003 on emigration and minorities. It also presents a kind of identikit of “tolerant Europe”, of a Europe favourable to the multicultural society and capable of accepting and integrating ethnic minorities, emigrants, political refugees and asylum seekers: the identikit is that of a young person aged between 15 and 40, from a well-to-do family (surveys clearly show that the higher the per capita gross domestic product is, the lower the intolerance), with a high level of education and resident in a city. Despite that, according to EUMC head Renate Winkler, “an attitude less open-minded to minorities is not necessarily translated into discriminatory or racist conduct”, even though the results presented in the Report clearly show the “need for the Union and for member states to promote policies to foster mutual understanding between cultures and reinforce social cohesion between the various communities”. http://www.eumc.at/eumc/index.php
