Brussels, 25/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - MEPs made a spirited appeal on Tuesday 25 September during the plenary session in Strasbourg for the EU to present a draft resolution demanding a universal moratorium against capital punishment at the UN General Assembly. On Thursday they are expected to adopt a resolution on this theme (third this year). During the debate, a large number of Parliamentarians voiced sharp criticism of Poland, the only member state to not be involved in instituting a “Day against Capital Punishment” on 10 October (EUROPE 9504).
Opening the debate, the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Manuel Lobo Antunes, speaking on behalf of the presidency of the EU, pointed out the EU's wish to introduce an inter-regional initiative for a moratorium on the death penalty during the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, which opened on Tuesday 25 September in New York. Lobo Antunes said that, “the fight against the death penalty is a theme forming the basis of our common European values”. He also mentioned the action carried out over a number of years by the EU to end this practice. He affirmed that, “We will continue to oppose the death penalty in all situations and circumstances”. He asserted that the EU's credibility in the world depended on this issue and explained that, “We will do everything for this initiative to succeed…as we have a lot to lose if it is not a great success”. He also pointed out that he wanted to get the European Parliament involved in this action but warned against the “difficulties” involved in the negotiations. Lithuanian MEP Laima Liucija Andrikiené (EPP-ED) noted two resolutions already adopted by the Parliament during the year, calling for a text in favour of a universal moratorium on the death penalty to be immediately presented to the United Nations General Assembly (EUROPE 9417 and 9357). “The right to life is a fundamental right and the death penalty is violation of that right”, she said, adding that this premise enjoyed “consensus” among all member states. Marco Pannella (ALDE, Italy) accused the Council for being “hypocritically accomplice” to the current situation, in so far as each time that the Council was able to do so it refused to take a stance on a proposal for a moratorium aimed at abolishing the death penalty. “You should have acted”, the MEP deplored, sounding a note of caution against any further postponement of the proposal. “After 14 years of to-ing and fro-ing on the moratorium, any attempt to further delay the proposal (such as by presenting it at the end of the General Assembly's meeting) could be fatal”, warned Monica Frassoni (Greens, Italy). Given this sizeable interrogation, Mr Lobo Antunes immediately wanted to reassure the MEP saying that the draft resolution would be presented between early and mid October. Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL) hoped the decision to present the moratorium on the death penalty would be done jointly with the Italian government. Like most MEPs, she also took a stance in favour of “dichotomy” between abolition and moratorium, the latter being an essential stage in order to attain the aim sought. Calling for abolition and moratorium at the same time would only “cloud the issue”, said Pasqualina Napoletano (PES, Italy).
During the debate, MEPs slammed the Council and Presidency for not having reacted after the refusal by Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his government to create a European Day Against the Death Penalty. “How long will heads of state and government tolerate the decision of the EU Council on this matter being blocked by an advocate of the death penalty?” asked Martin Schulz (Germany), leader of the PES group. “You cannot tolerate this situation,” said French MEP Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA). Lobo Antunes, who said he was “proud” to represent his country (the first in Europe to abolish the death penalty), remained silent. Frassoni also asked why the Portuguese presidency had decided to abandon the creation of a day against the death penalty. “If you had wanted, you could have forced a vote,” she said. Lobo Antunes said that this kind of decision had to be unanimous. Pole Konrad Szymanski (UEN), while not rejecting the idea of a moratorium on the death penalty, did not feel this to be a priority, notably in the light of the security situation in Iran. He tried to justify the actions of the Polish government backing, instead, the right to life on issues such as abortion. Polish MEP Genowefa Grabaowska (PES) said she was in agreement on accusing Poland. Finally, Lobo Antunes called on MEPs to give up the past and think more about the future. “We have to show confidence in the Council. It is a complex political issue. We call on the Parliament, therefore, to support the presidency in bringing about our objective,” he said. (bc)