"The European Union opposes, unconditionally and in every circumstance, to the enforcement of death penalty" and commits itself to abolishing it all over the world. José Manuel Durao Barroso, president of the EU Commission, confirmed it at the international conference, which is under way in Lisbon, promoted by the EU Executive, by the current presidency of the EU and by the Council of Europe. Today’s meeting will be followed by meetings related to the first European Day Against Death Penalty (proclaimed by the CoE) which is tomorrow. "Death penalty explained Barroso is against human dignity. Therefore we would like to give visibility and support to the efforts made by the many non-governmental organisations and to the individual work of those who day after day strive to abolish death penalty". The deputy president of the EU Commission, Franco Frattini, who considers such penalty a "travesty of justice", states that it has no place in the "European model" and confirms their "commitment to universal abolition". Currently, no member state of the EU or the Council of Europe enforces such penalty; 133 countries across the world have abolished it by law or de facto. The UN Assembly, which is under way in New York, must instead give a statement on the EU’s application for a universal moratorium.
