Brussels, 28/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 27 January, European Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot called on those member states which choose to take in former Guantanamo detainees to work together to ensure security in the Schengen area.
The European Union failed on Monday to reach agreement on concerted aid for US President Barack Hussein Obama in his move to close the Guantanamo prison camp, concluding that it was for each country individually to decide on whether or not to take in former detainees (see EUROPE 9826). “Public order and … Schengen require that there is coordination, we cannot do without it,” Barrot is quoted by Reuters as saying. He went on to say that reluctance on the part of some member states to work together was “ridiculous”. European governments expect the new US administration to repeat its call for other countries to take in former Guantanamo inmates, but Barrot said that this was a difficult issue that required careful consideration of the security implications and one that would have to be carefully explained to the general public. “The main problem, a very practical one, is, if we take in these people, do we put them in jail or do we set them free?” he said. “If you keep people who are obviously innocent in prison, you will quickly be accused of prolonging Guantanamo. But, on the other hand, if you set them free, people will ask, 'What about our security? Are you not putting that at risk?'” he added. Barrot said that home affairs ministers would have to be very clear about the conditions under which they took in former detainees, and why some are given one status and not another. The commissioner's view was that the United States would have to spell out clearly what it wanted from Europe on this issue, which would be on the agenda for his trip to Washington in March. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has told Czech press that he would not be surprised if the Americans raised the issue during his visit to the US in early February.
France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Finland and Luxembourg (along with Switzerland, which is now part of the Schengen area) have all agreed to consider taking in, on a case-by-case basis and under strict conditions, the 60 or so Chinese, Libyan, Uzbek and Algerian prisoners who have not been tried by the US authorities, but who would risk torture if they returned to their country of origin. France has suggested setting up a “one-stop shop” to consider the background of detainees who could possibly be taken in by Europe. Following Germany's lead, other countries, for example Belgium, are reticent about committing themselves. They have called on the US to state its intentions clearly. The Netherlands, Austria and Poland have already let it be known that they would not be taking any former Guantanamo inmates. (B.C./transl.rt)