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Learning from the EU

Non-members too often conceive membership of the European Union as a matter of almost unlimited economic benefits, political and administrative probity, and smooth functioning. But EU membership also involves substantial moral and political responsibilities at every level. The Czech police action protecting the Roma population in the provincial town of Litvinov, 100 km from Prague, is a good example. On November 14, police in riot gear, on horseback, and in armoured personnel carriers fought street battles with about 500 members of the far-right Workers’ Party as they suddenly turned off an approved route to attack a neighbourhood with a large Roma community. The marchers threw Molotov cocktails at the police in running battles; they were also armed with other deadly weapons ranging from pitchforks to machetes. The intended Roma victims had defensively assembled their own collection of weapons, short of Molotov cocktails.

While it is increasingly evident that far-right groups and their ugly racism are on the rise in several EU countries, the response of the Czech police is almost certainly the result of the EU’s extensive anti-discrimination laws and its Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is enforceable. In the years leading up to the Czech Republic’s 2004 accession to the EU, racism in that east European country managed to suborn the services of British consular officials in disgracefully denying British visas to Czech Roma because of the applicants’ skin colour. Today, membership of the EU means Czech citizens are free to travel and work anywhere in the EU. The official crackdown on racism, which includes labelling the Workers’ Party an extremist organisation with a possible implication of moving to disband it, marks a significant change in Czech political culture. The police action stands in sharp contrast to the conduct of certain leading politicians in neighbouring Poland but there too a Member of Parliament faces charges over allegedly racist comments about U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. Racism is one scourge that continues to afflict humankind; there are several other human-made scourges such as communalism, casteism, and sexism. Every regional cooperation organisation that seeks to replicate the achievements of the EU in inter-state cooperation and economic advancement must learn from its example in setting and enforcing the terms of membership in the wider social, political, and moral arena.

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