(2004/C 33 E/098)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1234/03

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(2 April 2003)

Subject:   Closure of Euskaldunon Egunkaria

On Thursday 20 February this year the Basque newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria was closed down as a precautionary measure by High Court Judge Juan del Olmo. In an unprecedented act since democracy came to Spain, this judge, the Public Prosecutor and the Interior Minister himself drew up a joint press statement supporting the closure of this periodical — the only entirely Basque-language newspaper — because of alleged links to the ETA terrorist movement, based on some documents that were seized by the national police in the 1990s. More than a month has passed since these events, and five of the ten people who were arrested by judicial decree are still in detention, although no decisive and irrefutable evidence has been provided of their links with the terrorist movement. Moreover, some of them have accused the Spanish police authorities of torture, a detail which certainly does not make the path of peace in the troubled Basque Country any easier. This action against one of the communications media has greatly damaged the Basque language and culture and the citizens of this region, who are perplexed to observe once again a kind of action more typical of the Franco era which still haunts people's memories. The Spanish Government should not overlook or underestimate the demonstrations of support and solidarity that those who worked for this newspaper have received from various political groups, all kinds of associations, trade unions, religious communities and many others in the whole Basque Country, Catalonia and the rest of Europe.

The closure of Euskaldunon Egunkaria is of enormous significance and clearly affects a constitutional right, the right of citizens to information, enshrined in Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution and Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Does the Commission consider that the Spanish authorities have violated inalienable principles of the acquis communautaire?

Does the Commission consider that there has been a clear and repeated infringement of the presumption of innocence?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 2003)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the answers to Written Questions E-0672/03 by Mr Borghezio and E-0641/03 by Mr Ebner (1).

(1)  OJ C 280 E, 21.11.2003, p. 75.