EU torn apart for 'pointing the finger' at Britain after report finds bloc guilty of 'shocking' racism
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The EU has been torn apart for "virtue signalling" and "bullying" after a report found that the bloc suffers from "shocking and shameful" discrimination.
Former MEP Ben Habib accused the EU of "pointing the finger at the UK" for wanting to leave the EU when the bloc itself is "riven with racism".
The new report, which compared countries across the region, found people of African descent regularly face racial discrimination, harassment and violence in all aspects of their lives, regardless of where they live in the EU.
The report found that almost half of black people in EU experience discrimination, which marks an increase since the last report was conducted in 2018.
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It said that much of the racism is not visible, meaning it remains undetected.
The report surveyed around 6,750 black people across 13 member states, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The worst results were recorded in Austria and Germany, but racism was found to be "pervasive and relentless" across the bloc.
The prevalence of racism in Austria was recorded at 67 per cent, while racism in Germany was recorded at 65 per cent.
Approximately two-thirds of black people in the two countries said they had faced discrimination in the last 12 months.
The lowest levels of racism was found in Portugal and Poland at 17 and 19 per cent respectively.
Hitting out at the bloc in light of the report, Habib told GB News: "The EU is famous for the promotion of its policies by wrapping them in cloaks of moral correctitude. It is equally famous for pointing the finger of blame at others while being itself deeply guilty.
"There is hardly a day that goes by when some European politician or another does not point at the UK and accuse Brexiteers of being racist, just because we wished to leave the EU.
"Well, as ever, their rhetoric conceals a rotten core. The open border EU, it would seem, is riven with racism. And this racism has grown dramatically since 2016.
"Perhaps surprisingly, one of the least racist countries is Poland – another target for EU bullying and accusations just because it wants to protect its borders and the social fabric of its country.
"Von der Leyen, the EU Commission’s president, admonished us for wanting to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
'As if the UK would somehow turn its back on human rights just because it is no longer a member of yet another virtue signalling defunct European body."
He added: "The truth is, the UK is the most welcoming and least racist country in the world. Those that would attack us, including the EU, do so for political reasons.
"So next time the EU has a pop at us let’s remind them that it was our great country that established human rights; our great country that first outlawed slave labour and the trading of slaves; our great country that twice had to stop Europeans from butchering each other.
"It is high time the EU indulged in some genuine introspection and cleared out its own Augean stable."
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Former MEP Ben Habib accused the EU of "pointing the finger at the UK" for wanting to leave the EU when the bloc itself is "riven with racism"
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Michael O’Flaherty, director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) which authored the report, said: "Imagine you apply for jobs but never hear back.
"Imagine you search for a home for your family but are never successful. Imagine you experience harassment or violence that leaves you deeply traumatised.
"This is the reality for many people in the EU today, just because of the colour of their skin."