EU assembly to consider Beijing Olympics boycott

By Darren Ennis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - China is expected to come under fire in the European Parliament next week over its response to unrest in Tibet with many EU lawmakers calling for some kind of European boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

Several leading assembly members will seek action ranging from a political snub of the opening ceremony to an outright boycott of sport's showpiece event by the bloc's athletes, parliament officials said on Thursday.

A special sitting of the EU assembly is expected to be convened to discuss China's crackdown on protesters in the Himalayan region.

The EU has so far said there is no need to boycott the Games in response to the wave of violence, which Beijing says was orchestrated by the exiled Dalai Lama, an accusation he denies.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has said he does not support the violence and that he backs the Beijing Olympics.

Slovenia, which holds the six-month EU presidency, said on Thursday that a boycott was "not the right answer". But France's foreign minister has said the idea should be considered and there is some support within the European Parliament for European countries to stay away from the Games.

The European legislature has no say over issues such as the foreign policy of EU states but its views can turn a spotlight on issues such as human rights abuses. Any decision to boycott the Games would have to be taken at national level.

"From my information, the question now is not whether to have a boycott, but more what type of boycott it should be," Edward McMillan-Scott, vice-president of the European Parliament, told Reuters.

OPENING CEREMONY

On Tuesday, EU assembly President Hans-Gert Poettering, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said politicians should reconsider attending the opening ceremony of the Games. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the idea could be considered by EU foreign ministers at a meeting next week.

McMillan-Scott wrote to EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana on Thursday seeking "an exceptional meeting" of the bloc's foreign ministers on the Tibetan issue before their scheduled informal meeting in Slovenia on March 28 and 29.

"The EU cannot sit on the fence and watch these tragedies unfolding in Tibet and China," he wrote. "I urge you to consider ... what stance the EU should adopt on the Beijing Olympics."

A spokeswoman for the Slovenian presidency said Tibet was not formally on the agenda of the meeting but if "the current pace of events continue, it is very likely to be raised".

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has angered China by agreeing to meet the Dalai Lama when he visits London in May.