EU to agree watered-down anti-racism law-diplomats

By Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to agree on Thursday to a watered-down anti-racism law, reflecting wide divergences among the bloc's 27 states on how to tackle racism and genocide denial, diplomats said.

The bloc has struggled for almost six years over proposals for an EU-wide anti-racism law, wrangling over the limit between freedom of expression and a will among some to crack down on Holocaust denial, Nazi symbols and criticism of religion.

"The protracted discussions have resulted in a weak text, which will not require substantive changes to the legal orders of many member states," rights group European Network Against Racism (ENAR) said.

EU diplomats said Nordic countries such as Denmark and Sweden favoured freedom of expression, while others such as France or Germany were tougher on punishing racist statements.

"There was a real struggle between the two poles," one diplomat said.

The publication by a Danish newspaper of 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad sparked protests in the Middle East and elsewhere last year and highlighted divisions in Europe about how far freedom of expression can go.

According to a draft text seen by Reuters, justice ministers will agree in Luxembourg on Thursday to punish incitement to hatred or violence against a group or a person based on colour, race, national or ethnic origin by one to three years jail.

However EU states can choose to limit punishment to those cases likely to disturb public order and the text states that an individual country's rules on freedom of expression can always take precedence over it.