Strasbourg, 13/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - At a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday, flanked by Margaret and Paula McCartney, the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, welcomed the outcome of the vote in plenary on the assassination of the sisters' brother (see Europe No. 8944), saying it was an unprecedented and highly symbolic move because it signalled to citizens seeking justice that they can count on the support of the European institutions. On the other institutions' attitude, Borrell said he had spoken with Messrs Borrell and Juncker on the issue, but did not reveal the content of the conversations.
At a different press conference, Mary Lou McDonald, a Sinn Fein MEP and member of the GUE (NGL group (the other Sinn Fein MEP is Bairbre de Brun), explained why her group had abstained from the vote, noting that they had wished to avoid making a political issue out of a murder without any political motives. She said her group supported the victim's family and wanted the truth about the tragedy to out. The McCartney sisters responded during the press conference with Josep Borrell that while the crime was not political, the IRA's intimidation and covering up of the facts certainly were, adding that it had been impossible to get any members of Sinn Fein or the IRA to give evidence.