New Year’s Eve attacks nothing to do with immigration, says EU
THE sex attacks that took place in Cologne on New Year’s Eve were simply a “matter of public order” and had nothing to do with the refugee crisis, Jean-Claude Juncker’s inner circle believe.
The European Commission will say there is no link between the crisis affecting the continent and the criminal acts against women in Germany, internal minutes disclose, amid growing concerns at a “xenophobic” backlash.
The minutes of the European Commission’s weekly cabinet meeting from Jan 13 hint at officials’ fears that the attacks in Cologne could turn public opinion sharply against the million migrants who have entered Europe.
They spell out Mr Juncker’s frustration at the inaction of national governments and suggest a sense of panic that the crisis could undermine the “credibility” of the European project.
In scenes that shocked Germany, women revellers were surrounded by a large crowd in central Cologne on New Year’s Eve. More than 500 people filed criminal complaints, 40 per cent of which were for sexual assault. The interior ministry, days after the attacks, said that “people with a migration background were almost exclusively responsible for the criminal acts”.
The EU minutes report a presenta- tion by Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the Commission and Mr Juncker’s trusted deputy. “As far as the crimes in Cologne were concerned, he said that these were a matter of public order and were not related to the refugee crisis,” the minutes say.
At the same time, the minutes agreed that the EU must “respond to the concerns of European citizens, particularly by stressing that Europe was also a union of security and values”.
The minutes follow comments made in the wake of Cologne by Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, who said he would accept no refugees as they were “impossible to integrate” and had a “different relationship to women”.
The minutes on Mr Timmermans’ presentation conclude: “He rejected as unworthy the accusations levelled at the Commission by the leaders of some member states who impugned the reputation of an institution that was the guarantor of European integration and, in particular, the Schengen area.”