Brussels, 11/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a press release on Wednesday 11 December, Amnesty International criticises the weakness of the response given by the 28 EU member states to hate crime in the EU. Amnesty believes that the conclusions adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Friday 7 December failed to remedy the shortfalls in national laws and practices. “Recent incidents of hate crime across member states, such as the wave of racist attacks against migrants in Bulgaria, and violence experienced on a daily basis by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people, clearly show the urgent need for EU action to protect victims,” Amnesty states. “Too often, we see little or no action by member states' authorities to thoroughly acknowledge, investigate and prosecute the hate motive behind these attacks”, Amnesty continues. The NGO calls on member states to improve their response rapidly, as well as the framework decision of 2008 on the fight against racism and xenophobia which Amnesty believes is insufficient. Amnesty also calls on the Greek Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU to ensure that member states really commit to acknowledging and prosecuting hate crime. (SP/transl.fl)