Brussels, 30/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Greens/ALE group in the European Parliament, which had already reacted to the assessment of the G8 (see EUROPE of 25 July, p.5), called for the EP civil liberties and home affairs committee to examine the deplorable events that occurred in Genoa, as well as the extreme attitude of the Italian police. In a letter sent to the Parliament President, Nicole Fontaine, the two co-Presidents of the group, Heidi Hautala and Paul Lannoye, called for a declaration with debate from the Council and Commission during the next plenary session of the European Parliament in view of reacting to the facts that unfolded during the last G8 Summit. They also call for considering the possibility of envisaging a somewhat anticipated application of the new Article 7 of the Treaty of Nice in the light of the events in Genoa, which foresees that the European Parliament may note a violation of the fundamental freedoms and principals.
As for the President of the European Parliament Socialist group, Enrique Baron, he said he expected the EU's citizens freedom and rights committee to make concrete proposals to guarantee the right to demonstrate and to isolate the authors of violence. It is not because there are hooligans that we ban sport, it is not because there are rioters that we must stop a democratic debate, asserts the Spanish Socialist, when revealing that a true contradiction between the recriminations expressed towards the citizens that are not interested in Europe (allusion to the remarks that form the basis, among others, of the Commission White Paper on governance) and the baton blows and the use of fire arms against those who come to demonstrate their opinions.