” “”The European Commission repeats its condemnation of every form of racism and xenophobia and its firm commitment to do all that is in its power to fight them”. This was stated today, the World Day for the Eradication of Racial Discrimination, by Franco Frattini, deputy president of the Commission. “The European Union added Frattini must be in the forefront of the fight against all forms of racism”. Expressing his regret for the inability of the member states to reach an agreement on the general policy resolution of the Council against racism and xenophobia, submitted by the EU Commission in 2001, the deputy president recalled that “the EU Commission, the EU Council and the EU Parliament are committed to achieve this goal as soon as possible”. From this perspective, he added, "the Austrian chairmanship and the EU Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia have promoted a workshop to be held in Vienna from June 20th to 22nd 2006 “. According to Frattini, fighting racism takes many tools: they include the upgrading of the Observatory, which "the EU Commission suggested should be turned into a EU Agency for the promotion and respect of fundamental rights”, a directive on racial equality and the promotion of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. Finally, he wished the forthcoming World Football Championship may provide an opportunity to promote "the values of sport, such as fraternity, equality and non-discrimination”. ” “
