(2004/C 84 E/0698)
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0550/04
by Mario Borghezio (Nl) to the Commission
(19 February 2004)
Subject: Employment by the European Commission of the radical Islamic thinker Tariq Ramadan in the capacity of a ‘consultant’
Given that:
| — | according to newspaper reports, the Islamic thinker Tariq Ramadan is acting as a consultant to the European Commission; |
| — | Tariq Ramadan is a leading proponent of radical Islam, to which he also has strong family ties, being the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, a founding organisation of international Islamic fundamentalism; |
| — | in 1995 Ramadan was declared ‘persona non grata’ by the French Republic, on the recommendation of the Ministry of the Interior in Paris, and seems, furthermore, to have had links in subsequent years with Al Qaeda elements operating in Europe; |
| 1. | On what grounds has Tariq Ramadan been taken on as a consultant by the European Commission, with what type of contract of what duration, and how much is his monthly fee? |
| 2. | Does the European Commission not intend to terminate this contract in the interests of European tax-payers ceasing to pay large sums of money for the services of a dangerous proponent of radical anti-European and anti-Western Islam? |
Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission
(16 March 2004)
The Commission would point out to the Honourable Member that his questions have already been answered (see Written Questions E-2494/02 from Mr Camre (1) and P-2600/03 from Mr Turco (2)).
| 1. | However, the Commission wishes to take the opportunity provided by the Honourable Member to reiterate that Professor Ramadan is not, and never has been, employed by the Commission as a consultant. Like all the other members of the group of wise men on dialogue between peoples and cultures in the Euro-Mediterranean area, he received funds to cover his travel and subsistence expenses for the group meetings in which he took part.The amounts paid by the Commission were small and commensurate with the amounts normally refunded to participants in meetings of the group of wise men organised by the Commission. |
| 2. | There can therefore be no question of the Commission having to terminate a contract. There has never been any reason for any such contract to exist, either with Professor Ramadan or with the other members of the group.The Commission would point out to the Honourable Member that the membership of this group of wise men was designed to reflect the diversity of perspectives of inter-cultural dialogue in the EU and the Mediterranean basin. The Commission plans to continue working along these lines because it believes that its ability to make a clear diagnosis as a prelude to action which is in the common interest of the EU as a whole and of its Member States is largely contingent on a wide range of viewpoints and analyses being heard.The Commission would also stress that the work of the group of wise men took place in full accordance with the principles on which the European Union is based and with the requirements which dialogue imposes. Each member of the group, without exception or restriction, complied with this common rule by approving and signing a report specifically based on the principles of ‘respect for the Other’, ‘equality at all levels’, ‘freedom of conscience, absolute and without restriction of any kind’, ‘solidarity’ and ‘mutual knowledge’. |
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