Addressing the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 11 April, the European Commissioner for justice, liberty and security Franco Frattini said that “the compromise solution on the problem of racism in Europe can no longer be deferred”, otherwise we risk failing to adopt the EU strategy on combating racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism. Over the last three years the European institutions and governments have failed to find an agreement on the matter, due to conflicting national interests in this field and the difficulty of reconciling the need to guarantee greater security with the defence of personal liberties, without having to limit these liberties at least in small part. According to the Commissioner, the Executive is doing its utmost to accelerate the adoption of the EU’s anti-racist provisions, which could be placed in a wider framework of measures also comprising the question of immigration and the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights in the European Union.
