Wer sich seit Jahren fragt, warum alle deutschen Medien unisono berichten, verschweigen, täuschen, beeinflussen, kurz gleichgeschaltete Gehirnwäsche der Konsumenten betreiben, hat von den Entschlüssen und Anweisungen der EU noch nichts gehört.
Europäische Journalisten haben im Jahr 2008 ohne nennenswerten Erfolg dagegen protestiert. "Goodbye to Media Freedom?" heißt ein Bericht, den die Vereinigung europäischer Journalisten Anfang Mai veröffentlichte. HIER GEHTS WEITER
Sie haben Gelegenheit, sich hier komprimiert einen Überblick zu verschaffen, warum die Medien gleichgeschaltet berichten.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Aussenkommissarin der EU bis 2009)
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
Intercultural dialogue: the media’s role
Seminar on Racism, Xenophobia and the Media: Towards respect and understanding of all religions and cultures
Vienna, 22 May 2006
Reference: SPEECH/06/321 Date: 22/05/2006
SPEECH/06/321
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
Intercultural dialogue: the media’s role
Seminar on Racism, Xenophobia and the Media: Towards respect and understanding of all religions and cultures
Vienna, 22 May 2006
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the European Commission let me welcome you to this seminar, part of a series we have sponsored to increase the media’s involvement in the Euromed partnership.
Many of you were at our previous discussions on “Euromed and the Media” where we discussed issues like press freedom, gender equality, and the safety and security of journalists. I am sure this seminar will be just as productive.
I would like to take this occasion to thank you, and your colleagues who could not be here today, for your enthusiasm and dedication. Your contribution will make the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership stronger than ever.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin with the words of Abraham J. Heschel, “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason”.
Europeans know from bitter experience the gravity of the threat racism and xenophobia represent. Indeed, the European Union was born out of the cataclysm of intolerance that engulfed twentieth-century Europe.
Our task has been to invert Heschel’s equation, minimising hatred and maximising reason. And today the European Union stands as a testimony to Europe’s religious, linguistic and cultural diversity. We are a community of values, united by our diversity and our determination to prevent such a threat from overwhelming us again.
That is not to deny there are problems in Europe. Racism and xenophobia stem from fear of the unknown, of the different, and in uncertain times they are never far from the surface. That is why we have set up the Monitoring Centre and why we are continually fighting for equality and tolerance.
We must also face facts and accept that much of what prompts peoples’ fears is a perception of a heightened threat from migrants. National debate in a number of EU countries is dominated by the supposed danger to jobs and security posed by migrants. At a time when the EU is profoundly aware of its obligation to respond to public concerns, migration is of necessity high on our agenda.
That is why later this week the European Commission will be discussing what we can do to address Europeans’ concerns about illegal migration and trafficking, and the perceived flood of migrants to our shores. The other side of the equation is taking the necessary steps to encourage the migrants we need for Europe’s continued economic development.
We also place a high priority on integrating minorities into Europe’s mainstream and on preserving essential European values like tolerance, diversity and peaceful dialogue. That is reflected in our adoption of Directives on equality, action plans, EU programmes, and intercultural and interfaith dialogue.
Next month we will meet here in Vienna again to discuss criminal penalties for racist behaviour and what more we can do to combat racism and xenophobia within the EU.
Of course we are not unique in facing these problems. No society in any part of the world is immune to prejudice. Just as Europe must fight a rising tide of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, not to mention other prejudices against foreigners, migrant communities and ethnic and racial minorities, so must our partners in the Muslim world and in Israel.
Europe still struggles to overcome “the oldest hatred” on our continent: anti-Semitism. And the furore around the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammed revealed the depth of ignorance in much of Europe about what others might find offensive. It also revealed the depth of ignorance about what Europeans – of whatever religion or creed – find acceptable.
The one thing we learnt from the accusations and counter-accusations was that no country can lay claim to the moral high ground. Around the world minority groups face persecution on religious, ethnic or racial grounds. There is no hierarchy of hatreds, each is equally repugnant.
We all have work to do to fight prejudice in the media and society as a whole, whether that be anti-Semitism, islamophobia, or other forms of religious or ethnic bias.
So today let me issue a call to action. All parts of every society have a responsibility to act against racism and xenophobia. But the media have a particularly crucial role to play, given your power to shape societal attitudes.
Media professionals must be aware of the impact of their words and images. As a judge of the Rwanda war crimes tribunal put it, “The power of the media to create and destroy fundamental human values comes with great responsibility. Those who control such media are accountable for its consequences.”
We need you to fully engage in the fight for mutual respect and understanding. We need you to do your utmost to minimise hatred and to maximise reason. And we need you to join with us in calling for responsible and meaningful intercultural and interfaith dialogue.
At the heart of the debate over recent months has been the supposed conflict between freedom of expression and freedom of religion. This is certainly not a new debate, philosophers down the ages have struggled with it. What makes it so difficult is there is no straightforward solution.
Both freedom of expression and freedom of religion are non-negotiable. Freedom of speech is central to Europe’s values and traditions. But its preservation depends on responsible behaviour by individuals. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right of individuals and communities. It entails respect for the integrity of all religious convictions and all ways in which they are exercised.
There’s no clear cut answer on how to reconcile the two, but rather two principles which should guide us. First, it is unacceptable that any one group in society – Christian, Muslim, Jewish or secular – seek the sole right to fix the parameters. And second, respect and understanding are the keys to any acceptable outcome.
The precise contours of a solution cannot be prescribed, they must come from each individual taking responsibility for his or her own actions. By extension, we do not believe the media should be regulated from outside, but rather that you find ways to regulate yourselves. It is not for politicians, and certainly not for the European Commission, to impose a code of ethics on the media. You are the best judges of what is possible, and of where the boundaries between gratuitous provocation and legitimate debate lie.
Freedom of expression is not the freedom to insult or offend. Hate speech is always abhorrent. Yet the line is sometimes blurred. That is why you will have discussions here among yourselves as media professionals, free from the constraints of politicians’ presence. Together you will decide on the best approach.
I urge you to treat this matter with the gravity it deserves and, as a profession, to rise to the challenges it poses. In considering the question of self-regulation, I would also ask you to think about the need for monitoring from within your own professional bodies. I am convinced that will have a significant impact.
I look forward to hearing about your discussions and receiving your recommendations. As with the previous seminars, these will feed into discussions on future priorities for the euro-med partnership, and so form a valuable input for our decisions on future programmes.
Before closing, let me also remind you of the EU’s other work to promote tolerance and understanding in the Euromed region, which you might consider in formulating your recommendations to us.
Earlier this month I visited the Anna Lindh Foundation for dialogue between cultures, which is developing a wide range of programmes targeting young people.
Projects on popular music, school magazines and encouraging scientific and information technology exchanges across the region will bring our young people closer together and promote mutual respect and understanding.
In addition the Foundation has programmes promoting women’s rights and networking female students and academics. And workshops promoting artistic creation in fields such as theatre, music, modern dance and arts, including travel grants for young artists from across the region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, and I am determined that by then we will have made significant improvements in the level of mutual respect and understanding our communities have for one another.
In the months and years to come we must reach beyond the elites to the man and woman on the street. That is a vital part of the fight against racism and xenophobia. And you will be the key to achieving that. Through you, the richness of our cultures, the similarities and the differences between us can be celebrated.
You know best how you can contribute, how to marry freedom of expression with respect for others, and minimise the hatred and maximise the reason. So I look forward greatly to hearing from my colleagues your suggestions.
Thank you again for your presence here and I wish you fruitful discussions in the days ahead.
und/oder hier:
Racism, Xenophobia
and the Media
Towards respect and understanding
of all religions and cultures
An EU seminar
in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
Vienna, 22-23 May 2006
und/oder hier:
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - Euromed and the Media
Euromed and the Media is an initiative financed under the Regional Information and Communication Programme that extends the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership dialogues to include the media. In a consultative process between the European Commission and the region’s media, joint efforts are made at resolving media and information related problems.
Through a series of regional, national and thematic meetings proposals/recommendations are sought in areas relating to:
Information and Communication
Training
Networking
Freedom of the Press / Independent Media
Safety and Security of Journalists
Xenophobia and Racist media
Gender Equality
Reporting Terrorism
Over 500 media practitioners from all 39 countries of the Partnership have participated in a series of conferences, seminars and workshops over the past three years. Almost 75 recommendations covering the above sectors have been proposed. A Task Force has been created to assist and advise the Commission on these proposals and on other media-related matters.
und/oder hier:
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EXTERNAL RELATIONS DIRECTORATE GENERAL
DIRECTORATE Middle East, Southern Mediterranean
EuroMed and regional issues
Euromed and the Media
Proposals & Recommendations
1. Information / Visibility
The parallel questions of access to information on the EMP and the visibility of the process have been discussed at length. On the one side there is a sense that the 11 years of actions since the Barcelona process began have produced little in the way of public knowledge about the various efforts and the considerable investment. On the other is a
sense that finding information about the EMP is not easy and that it is difficult to track what is being done because the information structures are not easily navigated.
The suggestions for further work in this theme included syndication of materials commissioned by Euromed, the production of Euromed publications by combinations of appointed journalists, establishing a Euromed news agency, and production of a ‘whitebook’ on journalism to document the current state of the profession in the region across a range of topics including freedom of expression, gender equality, press regulation, etc. This final item has already been the subject of further development.
und/oder hier ebenfalls:
COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION
Luxembourg, 19 April 2007
Framework decision on Racism and Xenophobia
Pending the lifting of some Parliamentary reservations, the Council reached a general approach on this Framework Decision.
The text establishes that the following intentional conduct will be punishable in all EU Member States:
– Publicly inciting to violence or hatred , even by dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.
– Publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising
und/oder hier:
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004
2009
Session document
REPORT
on the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the French
Republic with a view to adopting a Council Framework Decision on the
recognition and supervision of suspended sentences, alternative sanctions and conditional sentences
(6480/2007 – C6-0129/2007 – 2007/0807(CNS))
(5) This Framework Decision respects fundamental rights and adheres to the
principles recognised in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union, which are also expressed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, especially in Chapter VI thereof. No provision of this Framework Decision should be interpreted as prohibiting refusal to recognise a
judgment and/or supervise a suspensory measure or alternative sanction if there are objective indications that the suspensory measure or alternative sanction was imposed to punish a person because of his or her sex, race, religion, ethnic origin,nationality, language, political convictions or sexual orientation or that this person might be disadvantaged for
one of these reasons.
Aber diese Information ist auch äusserst aufschlussreich:
Fraktion der Progressiven Allianz der Sozialdemokraten
im Europäischen Parlament
Freitag 21/05/2010
„Europa braucht den Süden mehr denn je“
(Gemeint ist hier: Marokko, Algerien, Tunesien, Ägypten, Jordanien, der Palästinensischen Selbstverwaltung, Syrien, der Türkei und Israel. Anmerk.d.Bloggers)
Mit der Annahme des Berichts von Vincent Peillon über die Union für den Mittelmeerraum (UfM) hat das Europäische Parlament feierlich sein Bekenntnis zum Integrationsprozess Europa-Mittelmeer bekräftigt, der in den kommenden Jahrzehnten eine unserer vorrangigen Strategien darstellen muss.
Am 20. Mai verabschiedete das Europäische Parlament in Straßburg mit überwältigender Mehrheit den Bericht von Vincent Peillon über die Union für den Mittelmeerraum.
Der Europa-Mittelmeer-Prozess sah sich in den letzten zwei Jahren mit einer Reihe von Problemen konfrontiert. Es bestehen ernsthafte Zweifel an der Abhaltung des zweiten UfM-Gipfels am 7. Juni in Barcelona. Vor diesem Hintergrund schlägt der Peillon-Bericht einen Fahrplan vor, der die Union für den Mittelmeerraum neu beleben, ihre Mission klären und eine langfristige Strategie der Europäischen Union bezüglich des südlichen Mittelmeerraums festlegen soll.
Der Bericht bekräftigt feierlich das Bekenntnis des Europäischen Parlaments zum Integrationsprozess Europa-Mittelmeer, der in den kommenden Jahrzehnten eine unserer prioritären Strategien sein muss. „Wir im Norden denken oft, dass der Süden Europa braucht. Dabei vergessen wir aber, dass in Wirklichkeit Europa den Süden genau so sehr braucht und dass es eigentlich darum geht, die Fragen unserer wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung, unserer Bevölkerungsentwicklung, der Umwelt und der Bekämpfung des Klimawandels anzugehen, von den Herausforderungen für die Menschheit im 21. Jahrhundert ganz zu schweigen“, betonte der Berichterstatter Vincent Peillon.
Die Staats- und Regierungschefs der 43 Mitgliedsstaaten der Union für den Mittelmeerraum müssen jetzt „das ganze Ausmaß ihrer Verantwortung begreifen und dem Ruf dieses historischen Treffens folgen“, schloss der Abgeordnete der S&D Fraktion.
Der Peillon-Bericht unterstreicht die Notwendigkeit, die demokratische Legitimität der UfM so rasch wie möglich zu stärken. Seit einigen Jahren gibt es eine Parlamentarische Versammlung Europa-Mittelmeer (PVEM). Diese muss reformiert, gestärkt und als Bestandteil des institutionellen Gefüges der Union für den Mittelmeerraum anerkannt werden.
Schließlich unterstützt der angenommene Bericht die beim Gipfel von Paris im Juli 2008 festgelegten sechs großen horizontalen Strategiebereiche und nennt eine Vielzahl von ehrgeizigen Richtungen und konkreten Vorschlägen, unter anderem:
§ die Förderung eines Europa-Mittelmeer-Programms Erasmus
§ einen Fernsehkanal Europa-Mittelmeer
§ schrittweise Erleichterung des freien Personenverkehrs zwischen beiden Seiten des Mittelmeers
§ Konvergenz der Agrarpolitiken im Europa-Mittelmeer-Raum
§ eine Europa-Mittelmeer-Strategie für Energieeffizienz.
„Die Rezession hat sowohl im Norden als auch im Süden die Wirtschaft schwer getroffen. Das darf aber nicht dazu führen, dass unser fester Glaube an die Vorzüge des Integrationsprozesses Europa-Mittelmeer erschüttert wird. Europa muss alles tun, was in seiner Macht steht, um zu verhindern, dass es sich abschottet und stattdessen seine Lethargie abschütteln und sich selbst die Mittel – auch die finanziellen – geben, um langfristig mit erhobenem Haupt da zustehen“, betonte Vincent Peillon.
Mit dem "Süden" ´sind folgende Länder gemeint:
Auszüge aus der Barcelona/Euromediterranien-Erklärung von 1995:
Die Euro-mediterrane Partnerschaft ist zwischen der EU, Marokko, Algerien, Tunesien, Ägypten, Jordanien, der Palästinensischen Selbstverwaltung, Syrien, der Türkei und Israel eingegangen.
Vorgesehen sind:
Die Errichtung einer gemeinsamen Freihandelszone sowie ab 2010 der Anfang eines wirtschaftlichen Zusammenschmelzens. Wesentlich mehr EU Geld für die Partner und kulturelle Partnerschaft.
Respekt vor dem Islam wird von der EU garantiert. Freier Zugang zu den jetzigen EU Staaten ebenfalls.
Und, wundern Sie sich immer noch über die polizeiliche und mediale Bezeichnung "SÜDLÄNDER" als Bezeichnung für Kriminelle aus islamisch geprägten Ländern?
