Poland Vetoes EU Anti-Death Penalty Day

BBC News has, "EU anti-death penalty day vetoed."

The EU, where the capital punishment is outlawed, had planned to mark the anti-death penalty day on 10 October.

Poland's conservative government has in the past called for a re-opening of the debate on capital punishment.

The European Commission said a conference scheduled to launch the EU day against the death penalty would still go ahead on 9 October.

But with Poland digging in its heels, delegates may find the debate is livelier than they had expected, the BBC's Alix Kroeger in Brussels says.

And:

This is the latest in a series of political clashes between Brussels and Warsaw, on everything from homosexuality to environmental protection, our correspondent says.

She says that Poland's junior coalition partner, the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families, wants to bring back the death penalty for paedophiles.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski last year called on EU member states to reintroduce the death penalty.

Poland, along with Ireland and Malta, are the only members where abortion is illegal.

Poland's Roman Catholic clergy and politicians have described the practice of euthanasia in countries such as the Netherlands as a "culture of death".

The latest row comes as Poland prepares for early general elections on 21 October.                    

The BBC also carries editor Mark Mardell's Euroblog and his post, "Death and destructive lifestyles."

The British justice minister and former foreign secretary Jack Straw seemed almost glad to be back in Brussels when he met the British press after this lunch. He was adamant that to hold a day against the death penalty was right and went on to praise the Portuguese, who hold the presidency, for forcing the issue.

He also said that Portugal was the first European country to abolish the death penalty, back in the 19th Century, and that this had held even during the years of dictatorship.

You really do learn something every day in this job.

He also said: "I think the death penalty is something people have intense debates about, but abortion and euthanasia are seen as a private matter. I will make this comment about United States politics: I do not wish the United Kingdom to end up in a position where issues of conscience become a big party and partisan issue."

EU Observer has, "Poland chooses isolation over EU anti-death penalty day."

Poland is continuing to veto the creation of a European day against the death penalty, further escalating its row with the rest of the EU club and earning itself an accusation of "moral decay".

On Tuesday (18 September), EU justice ministers failed to give the anti-death penalty day the formal go-ahead, saying Warsaw alone had objected to the idea.

"Unfortunately, it was not possible to find a consensus among all the 27 member states", Portuguese justice minister Alberto Costa, speaking on behalf of his country's EU presidency, told reporters.

He added, however, this "does not mean that Europe is not committed to the abolition of the death penalty in the world and this position shall not change".

The EU had planned to mark a European Day against the Death Penalty each year on 10 October – in efforts to add to the weight of the World Day against the Death Penalty celebrated since 2003 as well as to gain a new symbolic tool when talking to pro-death penalty countries such as the US, China or African states.

But Warsaw has insisted that the EU "should approach the subject in a broader way and debate the protection of life" – something that would also include issues such as abortion and euthanasia.

It argues it is not necessary to establish a special day against capital punishment because it is outlawed throughout the 27-nation union. Instead it suggests celebrating a "right to life" day.

The Polish justice minister is said to have read out loud the number of abortions in Denmark, Sweden and Finland during the meeting.

Danish justice minister Lene Espersen said after the meeting that the rest of the EU club was "annoyed" by the situation.

Financial Times has, "Poland in EU battle on death penalty."

The dispute, though hardly a burning issue for the EU, illustrates how strained relations have become between Poland and some of its partners since the Kaczynski twins took power in Warsaw – Lech as president in December 2005 and Jaroslaw as prime minister seven months later.

Diplomats said the Polish refusal to endorse a common stance against the death penalty had been widely expected because it would have been all but impossible for the Kaczynskis’ Law and Justice party to make concessions ahead of a general election on October 21.

Earlier coverage is here.