A dangerous spiral

“I fear a re-nationalisation of policies in Europe, which would set off a dangerous spiral with prospects and developments difficult to be predicted, that could also have a negative impact on security measures, even leading to the closing of borders”, said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, during his official visit to Rome on July 7 to present the Report “Living together: Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe”, drawn up by the Group of Eminent Persons established by the CoE. For the occasion Jagland met with the Italian Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Scotti. The meeting focused on the reform of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights.Integrating minorities. At a press briefing the Secretary General presented the report with the participation of Emma Bonino, Vice-President of the Italian Senate and member of the Group. The report, which investigates the future of integration, is addressed to European parliaments and governments and in particular, it focuses on immigrants and ethnic minorities including the Roma, “for in many countries – Ms Bonino pointed out – they are not treated in accordance to the conventions these countries are signatories to”. Nevertheless, “every cloud has a silver lining”, Mr. Jagland told SIR Europe. “Indeed, the expulsion of Roma people from France last summer convinced the European institutions that it was high time to turn words into action by strongly supporting the protection and integration of this minority group in our societies”. Hence the Council of Europe and the European Commission agreed to undertake joint action for the training Roma mediators. The action plan was officially endorsed in Strasbourg on July 6. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou officially endorsed the agreement launching the Programme at a meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers with the signature of a joint declaration. A document for the first of two funding agreements was also signed, which will see the EU make one million Euros available to the Council of Europe for 2011 and 2012, allowing a total of 1000 mediators to be trained. “This will reinforce the Roma Mediator Training Programme (Romed) that has so far been carried out in 15 countries with 500 mediators already trained” Jagland said. Diversity as a resource. According to the Secretary of the CoE, “Europe should learn not only to accept diversity, but also to benefit from the presence of different peoples, cultures, ethnic groups and religions which represent a true resource”. There is a need to identify “common values shared by all: for this reason, I have decided to establish a Group with the task of compiling a report with recommendations for the CoE and the EU”. More generally, the Secretary explained the objectives and mission of the 47-member body – the protection of human rights, the rule of law and democracy – and recalled the over 200 conventions, many of which “have become national laws across the continent”. Today, he added, “a reorganisation process is underway” within the CoE “aimed at improving its performance” along with the process leading to “the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights”. An important step, because the “EU is a strategic player on the international stage”. Freedom of the press and journalists’ ethical code. Reacting to recent allegations of telephone-hacking in the UK, leading to the arrest of journalists of “News of the World”, the newspaper owned by tycoon Robert Murdoch, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland said: “A balance should be found between the fundamental right to privacy, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, and freedom of speech”, but “a culture of self-control is equally important: journalists and editors should act responsibly”. Having acknowledged the “cutthroat competition” among the media the CoE Secretary affirmed: “Telephone-hacking is a crime. He added that “governments need to act resolutely to fight and to prevent violations of this fundamental right, whilst actively protecting and promoting freedom of speech”. He thus conveyed the hope that what happened “will not result in control over information bodies”. Those countries “where there is no freedom of the press risk being marked by corruption and power abuse. It has happened in numerous North African countries, and sooner or later it will also happen in China. Without freedom of the press there isn’t true democracy”, underlined Jagland, who also chairs the Committee for the Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 2010 to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The Secretary General addressed his thought also to Morocco and Tunisia for which “The Commission in Venice is providing assistance in the building of the new institutional system”, and to Russia. “It’s hard to establish democracy without indispensable preliminary conditions such as political parties and civil society – Jagland pointed out -. However, is spite of ongoing major problems, such as racism, I think that Russia is on the right path as other forces are encouraging its modernization along with the achievement of European standards”.