BERLIN (EJP)--- Germany wants to make Holocaust denial punishable by law in every member state of the European Union during its current presidency of the EU, German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Monday.

"Denial of the Holocaust is an example of what would be punishable by law if standardization took place," Zypries said at a press conference to present the German government’s programme on justice matters for the next six months.

Previous attempts to unify legal standards for Holocaust denial and other xenophobic attacks were blocked by Italy, but the new Italian government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has dropped its opposition, Zypries said.

Among EU members, laws against denying Holocaust exist in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.

In a recent high-profile case, controversial British historian David Irving spent 13 months in jail in Austria for challenging the Holocaust before being released last month.

British historian David Irving spent 13 months in jail in Austria for challenging the Holocaust before being released last month. He was expelled to the UK.

Larger initiative

The German minister’s proposal is part of a Europe-wide initiative to curb right wing extremism.

The European proposals include also the introduction of minimum sentences for stirring up racial hatred and incitement to violence, and for the use of the Nazi swastika symbol.

This comes amid rising rates of racially motivated crime in Germany.

Figures released last week which tracked the number of racially motivated crimes from January to November indicate that 2006 could have seen a five-year high in such crimes.

Zypries told the Bild newspaper on Monday that officials are worried about increasing levels of cross-border activities engaged in by extreme right-wing radicals in Europe.

"That is why we are immediately going to introduce a new initiative during the European Union presidency to lay down uniform standards when it comes to fighting right-wing extremism," she said.

New presidency

Germany took over the rotating six-month presidency of the 27-country EU on January 1.

Zypries said she would undertake efforts in the coming months to see if it was possible to link up the police databases of other EU members.