At a press briefing in Brussels given to promote "World...

At a press briefing in Brussels given to promote "World Day against the Death Penalty" on October 10, the European Commission reaffirmed its opposition to the death penalty.
Daniele Smadja, Director in the Commission's External Relations, said the priority is to get a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Failing that, she said the aim is to ensure there are safeguards on how it is used, for instance people under eighteen or pregnant woman should be not executed.
Also present was a 29-year old Lebanese woman, Antoinette Chahine, who recounted how she was tortured and sentenced to death by the authorities in Lebanon, only to be subsequently found innocent.
Ms Smadja was cautious about the possibility of imposing economic or diplomatic sanctions against countries that retain the death penalty, saying "it is not an easy instrument to use".
It was better to "continue engaging with the country", she argued, adding that the Commission raises the issue "very often" in its talks with the United States and China.
The EU Council of Ministers adopted guidelines in June 1998 on relations with third countries who have the death penalty, while nearly Euro 5 million of the EU Budget for 2002 funded anti-death penalty projects, she noted. Sharing the platform with Ms Smadja was Michel Taube from the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty - an umbrella organisation that counts Amnesty International among its members.
He argued that diplomacy and campaigns were the best way of promoting their cause and that "sanctions could be counter-productive".
While there are murmurs about boycotting the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as a protest against China, which executes between one and three thousand people a year, he was "not sure a boycott is the best solution".
On September 29, an Hands Off Cain delegation had met the President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, who gave his full support to HOC's campaign for a UN moratorium on executions.
"Putting an end to the death penalty is not only an act of prudence, but also one of wisdom," Prodi said at the end of that meeting.