European Union has no plan to propose or enact any new law to put an end to cartoons or documentaries considered blasphemous by one billion Muslims across the world, said European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner here, Tuesday. “We will certainly not propose a law, because we have a lot of laws (on the issue),” she told a press conference. Ferrero-Waldner, who was on a two-day visit to the Kingdom that ended Tuesday, said freedom of expression and freedom of press were two basic human rights in the 27-member EU. In EU countries every individual has the right of expression, but at the same time every other citizen, who is not in agreement with what has been expressed, can rebut by expressing his/her opinion, she said. However, respecting freedom of expression did not mean that one should involve in things insensitive to others, Ferrero-Waldner said. “I think you can say things with sensitivity and then there should not be any problem between two communities,” she said, referring to the release of the film Fitna by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders and printing of blasphemous Prophet's cartoons by Danish and other newspapers in EU countries. However, she clarified the Dutch government's position and what it thought about that “stupid film.” The Dutch government said the film was an individual's opinion and did not represent the government or its people, she said. The European Commissioner said she held talks with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and others on a number of issues including economy, trade, foreign policy, energy, education and training of people, environment and research. In a meeting with Al-Naimi, she discussed the high oil prices, possibilities of increasing oil production and other renewable and alternative energy sources including developing technology for solar power. The EU is ready to offer technological know-how and expertise for the development of solar energy. She also said the EU could assist those countries which want to develop nuclear energy for civilian use. __
