(Euronews) Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has spoken up against “any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance.”
In a short statement released on Wednesday morning, Borrell expressed his unambiguous condemnation of the recent incidents in Sweden and Denmark that have seen a small group of protesters publicly burn the Quran, Islam’s holy book.
“The desecration of the Quran, or of any other book considered holy, is offensive, disrespectful and a clear provocation. Expressions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance have no place in the European Union,” Borrell wrote.
The actions, which have made international headlines, were approved by local authorities because they were deemed compatible with freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate, two pillars of liberal democracies.
