Baroness Ashton in political correctness row over word 'Christian'
Baroness Ashton is under fire after the EU failed to agree on a statement condemning attacks on religious minorities in the Islamic world because it is not politically correct to use the word "Christian".
Italy accused Lady Ashton, the EU's foreign minister, of 'excessive' political correctness Photo: EPA
A meeting of EU
foreign ministers failed to agree on a condemnation of sectarian attacks
over the Christmas period that targeted Christians in Egypt and Iraq.
Talks ended angrily when Italy accused Lady Ashton, the EU's foreign minister,
of "excessive" political correctness because she refused to name
any specific religious group as a victim of attacks.
Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, demanded an EU response on the
persecution of Christians after a New Year suicide bombing at a Coptic
church in northern Egypt in which 23 people were killed.
The Egyptian bombing followed attacks in Baghdad and fears, expressed by the
Vatican, of persecution leading to a Christian exodus from the Middle East.
Mr Frattini, backed by France, said it pointless to issue statements defending
religious tolerance without any references to the specific minority,
Christians, that was under attack
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"This position is an excess of secularism, which is damaging the
credibility of Europe," he said on Monday night. "The final text
didn't include any mention of Christians, as if we were talking of something
else, so I asked the text to be withdrawn."
Diplomats have accused Lady Ashton of appeasing Muslim sensibilities to avoid
a "clash of civilisations" after Egypt reacted furiously to a
request from Pope Benedict XVI for better protection for the country's
Christian minority.
The EU high representative said she would have to "reflect" further
about how to "make sure we recognise individual communities of whatever
religion who find themselves being harassed or worse."
Criticism and diplomatic rumblings over Lady Ashton's performance in the
European foreign minister job are beginning to break into the open after the
launch of her EU diplomatic service in the New Year.
"Those who thought the creation of a high representative would lead to a
more unified and coherent EU foreign policy have been very disappointed with
Ashton," said a diplomat. "She cannot even finesse a statement
from Christian Europe condemning attacks on Christians."
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