EU reacts to Gitmo closing

The European Union is examining its potential role in the transfer of detainees currently held at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to close by the end of the year.

For now, individual member states will take their own position on whether to accept former detainees, but the EU will strive for a consensus position, EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner said at a Jan. 26 meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

An estimated 60 of the 245 prisoners would face torture if released and returned to their home countries, according to Human Rights Watch. Some have speculated that the United States hopes to move 150 prisoners to other countries.

The United States has yet to determine which prisoners should be prosecuted, transferred or released. So far, France, Germany and Portugal have expressed a willingness to accept released prisoners.

"We view it is a historic decision by the Obama administration and take it as a sign that the new U.S. presidency will fulfill its promises," said Eva Dobrovolná, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Czech Republic. "We are also aware of the sort of legal mess that will come out of this and know that the United States will need some support from European partners. We believe that Europe should take some of these detainees cleared for release."

In Prague, responses are mixed, and tone can differ depending on whether officials are speaking for the EU or the Czech Republic alone.

"We believe that the decision has great symbolic and practical significance, and could facilitate strengthening transatlantic counter-terrorism and security cooperation, based on the respect of international law and human rights," the Czech EU presidency's official Jan. 22 reaction stated.

One day earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said, "The United States caught them, so the United States should take care of them." By Jan. 26, he said more time was needed to map out a policy.

Schwarzenberg is slated to visit Washington in early February, and Interior Minister Ivan Langer is expected to visit later with EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot and discuss Guantánamo. An EU-U.S. summit is scheduled for spring.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com