The Parliament called for "the proclamation of 23 August as a Europe-wide Remembrance Day for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, to be commemorated with dignity and impartiality."
MEPs voted to adopt a draft resolution tabled last month by centre-right EPP-ED group MEPs Tunne Kelam (Estonia), Jana Hybáškova (Czech Republic) and József Szájer (Hungary) (EurActiv 31/03/09).
The resolution underlines the "importance of keeping memories of the past alive, because there can be no reconciliation without truth and remembrance," while the EU assembly "reconfirmed its united stand against all totalitarian rule, from whatever ideological background".
Call for easier access to archives
"Parliament regrets that twenty years after the collapse of the communist dictatorships in Central and Eastern Europe, access to documents that are of personal relevance or needed for scientific research is still unduly restricted in some member states," MEPs declared.
Indeed, previous efforts to highlight the common identity and history of Europeans have stumbled on political or religious grounds (see EurActiv LinksDossier on 'European values and identity'), with reflections on Europe's communist past a particularly sensitive issue for the left in the EU's new member states.
The resolution calls on governments in the region to make a "genuine effort" to open up archives, "including those of the former internal security services, secret police and intelligence agencies". Nevertheless, MEPs warned that "steps must be taken to ensure that this process is not abused for political purposes".
Holocaust 'unique'
Despite underlining that "millions of victims were deported, imprisoned, tortured and murdered by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes during the 20th century in Europe," "the uniqueness of the Holocaust must nevertheless be acknowledged," the Parliament said.
There is already an international day of remembrance for victims of the Nazi Holocaust on 27 January. But MEPs want to go further by establishing a 'Platform of European Memory and Conscience' in support of "networking and cooperation among national research institutes specialising in […] totalitarian history".
The resolution also calls for the creation of a pan-European documentation centre or memorial for victims of all totalitarian regimes.
The Parliament suggested that existing financial instruments to commemorate victims of Nazism and Stalinism could be strengthened "with a view to providing support" for such initiatives.
The Czech Republic will host a major international conference on Holocaust-era assets in June.
