Brussels, 07/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Union acknowledged on Wednesday 6 May that it had not behaved in “heroic” fashion at the UN Conference of Racism, commonly referred to as “Durban II”, which took place in Geneva in April. A number of member states - Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands - boycotted the meeting, stating that the draft final declaration overstepped the red lines set by the EU on condemnation of Israel and defamation of religions. The European delegations present left the room during the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who described Israel's government as racist. The Czech Presidency decided to leave the conference definitively after this incident. At a debate organised by the European Parliament in Strasbourg, several MEPs asked the Czech Presidency why no European strategy had been put in place before the Geneva meeting. “There was never any common ground, so there was never an EU position before the conference,” replied Czech Foreign Minister Jan Johout. “The EU did not take the 'heroic' path at this conference,” he accepted, stating that lessons will be learned. “A Europe with a strategy and not acting on an individual basis would probably have been able to use the occasion to speak with a single voice to express its protest at these inadmissible comments,” said European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot. “This affair has to serve as a lesson to us and make us reflect so that, in future, we prepare more effective strategies,” he told MEPs, clearly pleased with the response given. (B.C./transl.rt)