EU Report Says That Racism On the Rise in Germany

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

By Leyla SURMELI (JTW)

The European Union (EU) report says that racism is on the rise in Germany. The EU report on racism in Europe severely critised Germany. The criticism for Germany comes on several fronts, including violent crimes and discrimination against foreigners in the job and housing markets.

Racism has recently become a hot issue in Germany after an apparently xenophobic attack on eight Indians (more…) in the eastern German town of M+-geln. The Germany Turks, biggest minorty group in the country, have also confronted serious racist attacks everyday.

The EU report says that violent racism in Germany appears to be on the increase. According to the report the incidents of racist violence and crime in Germany increased by 14 percent between 2005 and 2006, going up from 15,914 incidents in 2005 to 18,142 in 2006.

The “Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU” also shows that crime with an extremist right-wing motive also in increase, going up from 15,361 incidents in 2005 to 17,597 incidents in 2006, a 14.6 percent increase.

The incidence of anti-Semitic crime in Germany however remained fairly constant, with 1,662 incidents in 2006 compared to 1,682 in 2005.

The “Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU” was published Tuesday by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) — an agency which was created on Mar. 1, 2007 to replace the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.

Turkish Weekly