EU parliament rejects Giertych 'appeal'

The European parliament’s bureau has rejected an appeal by Maciej Giertych to reverse a decision sanctioning the Polish MEP for publishing a xenophobic pamphlet.

Last week, Giertych wrote to the bureau, the regulatory body responsible for the assembly’s budget and administrative matters, to revoke the reprimand.

But in a letter to the right-wing Polish deputy, parliament’s president Hans-Gert Poettering said that Giertych’s complaint contained “no element whatsoever which could lead to the reprimand being annulled.”

“The bureau stressed that dialogue between cultures is an essential part of developing understanding between people,” said Poettering.

“Your publication has not only singularly failed to reflect this understanding but could also compromise parliaments’ role in achieving this goal.”

The 32-page pamphlet titled 'Civilisations at war in Europe' caused uproar because of its sweeping statements about Jewish people, including claims that Jews are “biologically different” from “gentiles”.

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