Brussels, 27/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 July, the European Commission refused to comment on the rejection by the Italian House of Representatives the day before of a law that aimed to penalise homophobic acts and ideas. A spokesperson for Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding explained that this was a domestic matter involving national legislation and the commissioner had nothing to say about it. Nonetheless, the spokesperson, Matthew Newman, was keen to point out that on a number of occasions the commissioner had denounced homophobia. Newman pointed out that the Commission could only respond if the context concerned a European law, which was not the case with this Italian law. However, he said that the fight against homophobia and related discrimination is at the heart of the Commission's action and one of the flagship principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights advocated and defended by Reding.
Italian MPs rejected the draft law for a second time because they consider that gay and lesbian people should not be treated differently from other citizens. The MPs response has triggered an angry reaction from associations. (S.P./transl.fl)