Brussels, 16/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The meeting of the Bureau of the European Parliament, during the evening of Monday 14 January, took a series of decisions on the naming of a number of its buildings in Brussels. The EP press room will be baptised the Anna Politkovskaïa room, as a tribute to the Russian journalist and human rights defender, who was killed in 2006. This initiative, which was presented several months ago, has taken a long time to come to fruition, pointed out Marco Cappato (ALDE, Italy) and Marianne Mikko (PES, Estonia), who spoke out at a press conference held on the day after the decision against the initial “lukewarm reactions” of some. But the support of 70 members of the European Parliament, who signed a letter in favour of this symbolic act, helped to overcome all reluctance and the Bureau took its decision unanimously, they added. In a press release published on 15 January, the president of the EP, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said (our translation): “Anna Politkovskaïa was a brave woman who fought for press freedom and freedom of expression in her country. She is a symbol of these values and we pay tribute to her in this fight, which she fought under extremely difficult conditions. We intend to honour her and her commitment, which must never be forgotten”. The International Press Association (API), which, together with the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontières and other organisations, had lent its full support to this initiative of the Parliament, welcomed this decision.
The building D4 will take the name of Willy Brandt (the German Federal Chancellor from 1969-1974), building D5, that of József Antall (the Hungarian prime minister from 1990- 1993) and the bridge linking these two buildings with the Altiero Spinelli buildings will be named Konrad Adenauer (after the German Chancellor from 1949-1963). (A.B.)